Activists are outraged following the pardoning of two child rapists in Tanzania and in the same week called for pregnant schoolgirls to be arrested.
The country's president, John Magufuli, is being accused of "promoting a culture of human rights violations" after pardoning two men who were convicted of raping 10 kids between ages six and eight. The Tanzanian president also released thousands of other prisoners in his independence day speech on Saturday.
News of the pedophile rapists' release emerged simultaneously as another government official called for pregnant pupils to be taken into custody. John Mongella, the regional commissioner of Mwanza, explained the move would force girls to testify against those who impregnated them.
The president of Tanzania called for a ban to prevent pregnant girls from attending school earlier this year. The pedophile rapists released by the east African country's president are Nguzu Viking, who goes by Babu Seya, and his son, Johnson Ngazu, also known as Papii Kocha.
The director of Equality Now’s Africa office, Fazia Mohamed, condemned the country's leaders saying, "While President Mungafuli is pardoning convicted child rapists, regional commissioner John Mongella is calling on pregnant school girls to be arrested and taken to court."
Mohamed went on to say, "Tanzania’s leaders are promoting a culture of human rights violations in which young victims of sexual violence are being punished while perpetrators are going free." It's hard to disagree with her point, the banning of pregnant girls from school fails to address the fact they were impregnated, often from rape or sexual coercion.
"After seeing their attackers sentenced to life for rape, now these survivors and their families are dealing with the pain of witnessing the president freeing the men who violated them," she continued. "Where is the justice in that?"
A petition calling for pregnant school girls to be allowed to finish their education has garnered 67,000 signatures and can be found here:
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