Killings in marriage fuel feud, resolve matters amicably
DAR ES SALAAM: RECENTLY there have been distressing reports of murder incidents, particularly involving married couples, where men have been killing their wives out of jealousy.
Such actions not only deprive individuals of their right to life but also violate the Constitution of the country.
Some of these killing incidents have not only caused fear within families and communities but have also led to psychological harm. One of the saddening events that occurred recently in the country was the killing of a woman named Ezekia Kamana, a resident of Tandika, Dar es Salaam.
She was reported to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances on August 19 of this year.
According to the Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander, Mr Jumanne Muliro, her body was later found on August 23, already deceased.
Another incident involved the dousing of kerosene and setting on fire of a domestic worker, Grace Joseph (17), a resident of Misungwi District, by her employer.
Reached for a comment, Mwanza Regional Police Commander Wilbroad Mutafungwa confirmed the incident, saying the employer, Christina Shiriri (43), a resident of Usagara-Misungwi, was arrested for legal action due to the cruelty she inflicted on the person.
Elaborating, the cop said Christina committed the act of cruelty after accusing her worker of stealing 161,000/- , which she had kept in her bedroom.
Additionally, incidents of murder, rape of young girls, and violence between men and women continue to be reported in various parts of the country, causing fear and threatening the well-being of people’s lives.
According to Article 14 of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977, every person has the right to live and to receive protection for their life from the community in accordance with the law.
Therefore, those who participate in acts of killing are committing crimes and violating the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Speaking recently in Mwanza, the Director of the Non-Governmental Organisation Wote Sawa Executive Director, Angela Benedicto, condemned the act of firing with kerosene to the domestic worker by her employer, alleging her to stole 161,000/- In a statement issued on her behalf by Wote Sawa’s Welfare Officer, Ms Renalda Mambo, Benedicto said that there has been a trend of employers preferring to hire young children under the age of 14 to help to care for their children.
Citing an example, Benedicto said in 2023, the organisation received 19 cases of children under the age of 14 who were employed in domestic work, along with 67 cases of domestic workers who had been deprived of their wages, beaten, raped and subjected to other forms of cruelty.
Angela further explained that there has also been a wave of domestic workers being raped, killed and burned, citing a specific case in Morogoro region where construction workers were accused of killing a domestic worker said she mentioned them that they were steal their employer’s belongings.
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“We strongly condemn all forms of cruelty carried out by employers against domestic workers, and we urge employers and citizens not to take the law into their own hands and to immediately stop such bad habits,” she said The Coordinator of the Peace Committee of Religious Leaders in Mwanza Region, Sheikh Twaha Bakari, said when incidents of murder and cruelty against women occur, the law should take its course, including arresting and prosecuting the criminals.
Human Rights Defender in Mwanza, Khadija Liganga, said the current incidents of murders are detrimental to families and society as a whole.
“This is a cruel act that takes away people’s lives. My hope is that the government will continue to control these acts and take strict legal action against those who participate in killing others,” she said.
Liganga urges the community and those in leadership positions to find the best ways to preserve the dignity of individuals who are subjected to acts of violence, so that these acts do not continue to affect them psychologically, environmentally and ultimately undermine their self-confidence and ability to carry out their responsibilities effectively.
Liganga thanks the government for its current proactive stance in combating violence against women, girls and men as well.
“We have witnessed a strong government initiative in collaborating with private institutions and nongovernmental organisations to oppose acts of violence by providing education and establishing advocacy groups.
According to Liganga, the government’s action demonstrates how it has now decided to take the issue of genderbased violence and killings seriously and has begun taking action against those who intend to commit such acts in the community.
She urges men who are subjected to violence by their partners to understand that they have the same rights as women who experience such violence, and that they should come forward and report the abuse to the relevant authorities or institutions that uphold justice.
According to the Legal and Human Rights Centre 2023 annual report (Distribution of Human Rights Violations by Group Category), in 2023 children rights were more violated by 37 percent incidents, followed by women with 26 percent incidents, Youth with 24 percent incidents.
According to the report, elderly with nine percent incidents, indigenous with two percent incidents, people with disability (PWDs) with one percent incidents and People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with less than one percent incidents. Incidences by Group Categories in 2023, according to the report, children rights were more violated, where the key drivers were rape, sodomy, early pregnancy, physical beatings, burning of body parts and desertion.
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The report clarified that children and young people are especially exposed to rights violations because they are dependent on adults, which can at times heighten risk.
“For instance, reported issues of rape and sodomy are perpetrated by close family members who are caretaker on trusted people closer to children like teachers, and church leaders”, reads the part of the report.
The report said, women primarily impacted by rape and gender-based violence (GBV) while children, on the other hand, often grapple with the harsh reality of child abuse. However, among the youth, according to the report, economic issues such as unfair termination in the workplace are prevalent.
“The elderly population face abuse, particularly in the forms of discrimination and witchcraft associated killings”, the report reads However, the right to life according to the report was the most violated right and was attributed mainly to incidences of mob violence resulting in fatal outcomes, disputes arising between farmers and pastoralists, femicide and killings associated with witchcraft beliefs.
The right to security was accelerated by acts of rape, child abuse, sodomy, GBV, abduction, corporal punishment at home and at school, burning of body parts and assaults as according to the report.
However, the report said the right to safety and security was accelerated by acts of rape, child abuse, sodomy, GBV, abduction, corporal punishment at home and at school, burning of body parts and assaults.
The report emphasised that the right to be free from violence was accelerated by incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) and rape with the right to property ownership was primarily accelerated by incidents of evictions, land disputes and challenges related to inheritance.
It is important for people in the community to provide confidential information about those involved in acts of violence and killings as well to the Police Force and government leaders so that they can be arrested and brought to justice.
