A Kadoma resident, Believe Guta, has petitioned the Parliament of Zimbabwe to consider amending the Maintenance Act [Chapter 5:09] to require confirmation of biological parentage of the alleged father before maintenance is imposed.
Guta, in his petition’s prayer, specifically calls for the amendment of Section 23 of the Maintenance Act through the insertion of his proposed subsection.
“Proposed Amendment – New Subsection 1A to Section 23:
‘(1A) No proceedings under this section shall be instituted unless the paternity of the child concerned has been established by voluntary acknowledgment, a court declaration, or a DNA test conducted in accordance with the law, where paternity has not previously been admitted or is disputed.’” read the petition.
He said his petition has been necessitated by the number of men in Zimbabwe who have been imprisoned for defaulting on maintenance orders in cases where paternity was either in dispute or later disproved by DNA testing.
In Zimbabwe, citizens have the right to petition Parliament on matters they are dissatisfied with or wish to see addressed, as long as the matter falls within the scope of Parliament’s authority.
The right to petition Parliament is provided for by Section 149 of the Constitution.
Section 149 states: “(1) Every citizen and permanent resident of Zimbabwe has a right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority, including the enactment, amendment or repeal of legislation.”
Several Zimbabwean men have received the shock of their lives when they discover that the children they are looking after are not theirs through the popular web series The Closure DNA Show that is hosted by Tinashe Mugabe on YouTube.
