Own Correspondent|In a very alarming development for the country, which would make Zimbabwe a haven for paedophiles, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Welfare is reported to be pushing for the age of se_xual consent to be reduced to 12 years. At the moment, the legal age of consent is 16 years.

The matter was confirmed by the Assistant Clerk of Parliament Johane Gandiwa who said that the issue of reducing the age of sexual consent to 12 years was actually discussed by the Health and Child Welfare committee last week during a workshop.

Commenting on the matter, former Harare West legislator Jessie Majome said,

“I remember how we fought so hard in the 8th Parliament with Innocent Gonese and Priscilla Misihairabwi in the Committee stage of the Criminal Codification Reform Amendment Bill to raise the consent age from 14 to 18 and got 16, now it can just blow away in 2 fell swoops!”