30-year jail sentence awaits persons marrying, impregnating schoolgirls

DAILY NEWS Reporters in Dodoma

ATTORNEY General (AG), Mr George Masaju, yesterday evening tabled before the National Assembly amendments to the Written Laws Miscellaneous Act (No. 2) of 2016 which imposes a jail sentence of 30 years to persons who will marry or impregnate primary and secondary school pupils and students.

Under the amendment, the fine also covers for any person who will marry or get married to a primary or secondary school student. Similarly, Masaju said any person who will facilitate, persuade or take part in a move to marry off a primary or secondary school pupil or student will be liable to a fine of 5m/- or five years imprisonment or both terms.

The AG said the move is aimed at ensuring schoolgirls complete their education without any hindrance in response to government free education policy.

He said the amendment are made to replace the Education Act, Cap 353 which prohibits marriage or impregnating primary or secondary school pupils and students. The Act offered a penalty of 500,000/- or three years imprisonment to wrong doers.

To ensure enforcement of the Act, Masaju said all headteachers and headmasters/ mistress will be required to issue a six-month report to the Commissioner of Education on the status of pupils as far as marriage and pregnancies are concerned.

For practitioners of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the amendment proposed a fine of 2m/- or 15 years jail sentence or both, the goal being to end such outdated practices.

Other amendments are on the Anti-Money Laundering Act fine which has proposed an amount equivalent to three times the market value of the property unlike the 500m/- maximum fine under the current law when the offence has been committed by a body corporate.

Mr Masanju also proposed amendment on the Forests Act Cap 323 where the current laws impose a fine of 1m/- for smugglers of logs. Instead the fine will be 5m/- or a three-year jail sentence.