Cabinet Raises Age Of Criminal Responsibility From Seven Years
Cabinet has raised the age of criminal responsibility from seven years up to ten. The decision is said to have been arrived at after considering that children acquire maturity at different stages.
The amendment means that law offenders who are under 10 years of age now have court and jail immunity. At the moment, minors from seven years upwards can be dragged to the courts or sent to young offenders’ prisons.
The development was confirmed by Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs permanent secretary, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza. She said that Cabinet has approved principles of the Bill, which include a review of the age of criminal responsibly. Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Mabhiza said:
Cabinet approved principles stipulating 10 years as the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
The previous position in terms of Section 7 of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23), stipulating rebuttable culpability, would have seen a child as young as seven years facing the formal justice system.
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Mabhiza added that the current position on the age of criminal responsibility is extreme and a remnant of the common law absorbed from the former colonial system hence the need to be amended in line with the new Constitution.
It would also be in resonance with recommendations by the United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights. It notes that member States must fix the age of criminal responsibility for juveniles at a low age and must consider issues to do with emotional, mental and intellectual maturity.
More: The Sunday Mail
