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Shamiso Dzingire Court Reporter
A POLYGAMOUS member of the Apostolic sect who has 19 children, has been dragged to court for refusing to send his six minor children to school.

The children aged between eight and 14 years, have never seen the inside of a classroom, the court heard.

Sebastian Chivhima, 59, from the affluent Hillside suburb in Bulawayo, is said to have forced his children into vending instead of sending them to school.

He appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Charity Maphosa facing six counts of absenting children from school as defined in Section 10 of the Children’s Act.

Chivhima, who was accompanied to court by his four wives, pleaded not guilty to six counts of absenting children from school and was remanded out of custody to July 10 on $50 bail.

He denied sending the children to sell wares on the day in question and that the children have never been to school.

“I never sent them to vend at the shopping centre. They just took the brooms and proceeded to the shopping centre without my permission. It’s also not true that all the children have never been to school. Three of them used to attend school in Marondera, your worship,” said Chivhima.

However, the children contradicted their father when they said they have never been to school their entire lives.

Prosecuting, Taurai Hondoyemoto said on July 1 at around 1PM, a police officer stationed at Hillside police station was on patrol at Hillside shopping centre when he saw the six children selling brooms and mops.

The court heard the officer enquired from the children why they were selling wares during school hours.

“They told the officer that they don’t attend school and have never been to school,” said Hondoyemoto.

The officer, the court heard, took the children to Hillside Police Station before arresting Chivhima.

President Robert Mugabe is on record as saying the refusal by some apostolic sects to take their children to school and hospitals was one of the major drawbacks in the country’s development.

Last year, a Chitungwiza based member of the apostolic sect who refused to send his nine-year-old daughter to school claiming that he did not want to expose his children to an education system introduced by former colonialists, was fined $100 for child neglect.