A South Africa based man has cried foul and accused his parents of marrying off his 13-year-old daughter last month. The 13-year-old was allegedly married off at the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church’s Mafararikwa Shrine during their Passover gathering.

Tinashe Mushati Mucharwa’s 13-year-old daughter Violet Mushati disappeared last month while at the shrine. She was in the company of her grandparents, Enock Mushati Mucharwa and Violet Saini Zhangaroti.

The grandparents have expressed ignorance over their granddaughter’s whereabouts. However, they don’t seem to be worried and only filed a missing report on Tuesday, five weeks after Violet went missing. The report was only filed after the Manica Post enquired about Violet’s whereabouts.

The grandmother claimed that she had been bedridden with a headache, hence the delay in filing the report. She, however, said cases of children going missing are not unusual.

“I tried to locate her in vain. I was having a terrible headache and was advised to go and rest at home. Some people are saying Violet eloped with another congregant, but these are unsubstantial rumours. She is still too young to be married. We have looked for her everywhere and I could not make a police report all this time because I was bedridden. Her disappearance is not something new as these cases are common after our church gatherings.”

However, other relatives claimed that the grandparents had married off their granddaughter, to a suitor who was flashing United States Dollars during the Passover celebrations. One of the uncles, Innocent Mucharwa told the publication,

“My brother, Enock Mushati Mucharwa and his wife, Zhangaroti know Violet’s whereabouts. This is not the first incident to be reported in this family. Tafadzwa is between a rock and a hard place because while he wants justice to prevail, he cannot expose his parents’ shenanigans.

“All his sisters were married off in the same manner. Last year, one of his sisters was married off at 13 and gave birth this year. The baby died soon after delivery due to birth complications.”

Another uncle, Elton Much also denounced the grandparents saying,

“She is not the first to be married off. Enough is enough and we cannot just fold our arms and watch these innocent girls being abused…The husbands just pay a small token like sugar, a goat or $100.

“It does not make any sense for someone to make a missing person report a month after the incident…My brother should not torment his own flesh and blood like that.”

Violet’s father also made it clear that he did not believe what his parents were saying.

“My brother, it is difficult to fathom that someone is staying with my daughter as a wife. I am keen to know the truth because I am not buying my parents’ explanation of Violet’s disappearance. We sent out search parties all over, but this has drawn blanks.

“I was once a member of this church and I left after failing to agree with some of their doctrines. There are a lot of abuses in the church. I will not rest until I know the whereabouts of my daughter.