Story by Fungai Jachi
A Kadoma resident who petitioned Parliament to consider amending the Maintenance Act to include mandatory DNA testing before men are asked to pay for child support is expected to appear before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs this Tuesday to clarify his petition.
The petitioner, Dr Believe Guta, requested that the Parliament of Zimbabwe consider amending the Maintenance Act [Chapter 5:09] to require confirmation of the biological parentage of the alleged father before maintenance is imposed.
In the petition submitted under Section 149 of the Constitution, Guta raised alarm over what he described as a significant legal and human rights gap in the current Maintenance Act (Chapter 5:09), particularly Section 23.
The provision allows for the imprisonment of individuals who default on maintenance payments, even in cases where biological paternity has not been proven.
The petitioner argued that the absence of a mandatory paternity test or legal declaration has resulted in many men being imprisoned based on disputed or later disapproved parentage.
The petition calls for the amendment of Section 23 of the Maintenance Act through the insertion of a new clause which would require that no legal proceedings must be initiated unless paternity is confirmed through voluntary acknowledgement, a court declaration or a DNA test, especially where paternity is disputed.
Guta has therefore been summoned before Parliament to clarify issues raised in the petition.
