ZRP not licensing infidelity or GBV by advising de...

ZRP not licensing infidelity or GBV by advising deleting of compromising messages

Bridget Mabanda

Zimbabwe Republic Police in Bulawayo has said it not encouraging infidelity among couples by urging women to delete messages before getting home. They are simply giving practical advice for the situation on the ground.

Assistant Inspector for Bulawayo, Nomalanga Msebele said there are so many causes of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in marriages and relationships, but some can be avoided.

She said reports of GBV caused by WhatsApp and text messages are prevalent.

“Infidelity amongst Zimbabweans seems to be prevailing at alarming levels. Almost every week we hear of people committing suicide, committing murder, fighting and having public emotional break downs because of infidelity identified through text messages or WhatsApp,” she said.

She added that the Bulawayo police were not promoting infidelities in relationships when they had a march in Bulawayo CBD on a gender violence awareness program, but peace hence reducing cases of Gender Based Violence

In their march, they urged women to delete their WhatsApp messages before getting home.

“We are aware of laws that says a phone is a private property and one has no rights to invade in someone’s privacy but in actual fact, people (married or not married) scroll in each other’s phone hence if you know that you are keeping messages that may lead you into trouble, its better to clear them so as to promote peace in your relationship,” she added.

However, their message on deleting messages has caused mixed feelings among different people.

Padare Enkundleni ' Men's Forum’s programmes officer, Meseli Nyoni told Zimbabwe Now that deleting of messages in cellphones promotes peace and a phone is a private property hence it belongs to the owner.

A Masvingo based teacher, Takaedza Chenjerai said yes it might be a good move but, what is it that they want to keep secret?

He said it is even easy to see that a certain conversation had been deleted.

Chenjerai said despite deleting messages, the conversation might continue when one is at home causing misunderstandings who usually end up as fights.

“There should be no secrets between married couples because the moment you choose an escape route to run away from a system which you can stop and avoid you are creating another big problem which is a way to violence,” he said.

He said after all the call for this is being over emphasised, the nation is ignoring the boy child is also at risk.

“Why encouraging a woman to delete the chats? What advice are they giving to men? Are they, as policing forces, encouraging cheating yet they want domestic violence rates to go down? That is signing a peace settlement accord with the right hand while the left hand is holding a fully loaded gun,” he said.

Life coach Brian Matsaira said, by encouraging women to delete messages from their phones, the police is promoting infidelity.

“What kind of messages are deleted before getting home? The police are only focusing on reported cases of GBV due to messages,” he said.

A number of cases of murder in Zimbabwe are triggered by one partner coming across messages that make them angry in a partner's phone.

The ruling that no one is entitled to go through a spouse's phone came about in a murder court case after a Chitungwiza nurse stabbed her husband dead with a kitchen knife over messages in his phone,

In May 2021, police in Manicaland launched a manhunt for a Rusape man who allegedly murdered his wife after stumbling upon a love text message in her mobile phone.

A dealer at Ximex Mall, Tafadzwa Russel Murengwa, known as Boss Pango, shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, accusing her of cheating on him with a married man, before committing suicide.

In an audio explaining what had transpired, Boss Pango said he used his own password to access his girlfriend’s WhatsApp after she had refused to give Pango her phone password since he had hacked it.

In August 19, 2022, a Gweru woman allegedly stabbed her husband to death with an unknown object following a fight over a WhatsApp message she had received from a suspected boyfriend.

While all genders can be victims of GBV, reported cases show that it is mostly women who have been killed, beaten and maimed. It also appears that there are more reports of women being involved with other partners outside marriage and steady relationships.