COUNCIL of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) general secretary Rev Emmanuel Chikoya has called for the arrest of the Salama Park couple which defiled a 17-year-old boy of Kamanga Township.

In a statement, Wednesday, Rev Chikoya urged police to investigate the matter further to ascertain the motivation behind the shocking ordeal.

“The CCZ has received with shock the alleged defilement of a 17-year-old boy of Kamanga Township in Lusaka by his female employer of Salama Park in Lusaka where the boy worked from. It’s further alarming to learn that the husband to the woman in question was part of the abhorrent and illegal act as he is reported to have threatened to kill the boy if he resisted as he filmed his wife sexually molesting him. For whatever reasons that motivated this couple to do such a shocking act, we, at the Council of Churches in Zambia, condemn in strongest terms the barbaric and traumatising act by the couple. We would like to call upon the Zambia Police to move in and arrest the couple and further investigate this matter thoroughly in order to establish the motivation of this shocking ordeal,” Fr Chikoya urged.

He further expressed shock that police officers who received complaints from the victim mocked him instead of being professional.

“We are also very alarmed to learn that police officers, who received this development at Mwansa Kapwepwe Police Post, mocked the minor for not having alerted neighbours by screaming for help. The behaviour by the said police officers to mock the minor is unprofessional and unacceptable. The Zambia Police ought to be professional at all times in the execution of their duties by being friendly to boys and men in the same manner they are friendly to women and girls when Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases such as this one are reported to them,” he added.

He also urged all GBV victims to report all crimes to the police for prosecution.

“Anyone who forces another to have carnal knowledge of them commits a crime, regardless of who the victim might be. We would like to commend the boy for his courage to report the matter to the police so that the law can take its course. We would also like to take this opportunity to call upon all men and boys, who are victims of Gender-Based Violence in their homes, places of work or at school to come out in the open and report to nearest police stations, faith-based organisations or NGOs so that they can be helped. We understand that society believes men by nature cannot be victims of GBV, a notion, which has caused untold misery by male victims of Gender Based Violence for years. The truth is that there are also men and boys, who have been abused by women in their homes, school, places of work etc. but have been quiet for fear of stigma, hence our call on them to report relevant institutions for help,” stated Rev Chikoya.

“We would like to reiterate that no human being, be it young or old, deserves to endure such kind of humiliation and trauma. As a Church Mother Body, we stand and will continue to stand against all forms of Gender Based Violence in Zambia and beyond. The family of the abused boy is in our prayers, praying that God will be the source of their comfort and the much-needed healing. We are also praying for the boy to recover from this traumatic ordeal as he grows up into a young man.”