BY KENNETH NYANGANI A MUTARE couple is in trouble after marrying off their 15-year-old daughter for $40. The couple appeared in court yesterday before Mutare magistrate Prisca Manhibi facing charges of pledging a female person as defined in section 94 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. A 20-year-old Mutare man (who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor), to whom the girl had been married off, has already appeared in court facing charges of having sexual intercourse with the minor girl. He admitted guilty, together with his supposed in laws, to the charges and will be sentenced on Monday. It is the State’s case that on July 29, the 20-year-old man told the minor’s parents that he intended to marry her. The couple, however, made an arrangement that he pays any lobola amount of his choice before taking their daughter for marriage. On August 2, 2020, the man brought $40 as per agreement and gave it to the couple, who handed their daughter to the accused. The matter came to light after neighbours reported to nearest police station, leading to the trio’s arrests.
