Retired judge weighs in on child crimes

Retired High Court Judge, Robert Chinangwa has attributed some bizarre behaviour among young people in the country to gaps in parenting or general upbringing interventions in homes.

According to Chinangwa, most juvenile cases that he handled during the 35 years that he was on the bench emanated from factors involving twisted upbringing and socialisation.

He said this in an interview on Saturday at the graduation of 57 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) students at International Christian Academy (ICA) at Children of the Nations (Cotn), a Lilongwe-based charity organisation.

Chinangwa, who is a board member of Cotn and was guest speaker at the function, said imparting religious values on children is key to any form of upright upbringing.

“I have been on the bench for almost 35 years and occasionally I’ve heard juvenile cases and one of the factors is upbringing. Where they come from or whom they socialise with even at school contributes to their character,” said Chinangwa.

He said there is a marked difference between children who are properly brought up by biological or foster parents and those brought up in broken homes.

Chinangwa added that the kind of character that Cotn imparts on students and all children at the centre prepares them to be responsible members of the society where they live.

“I’m not saying they are much better than those in secular schools, but here, they live in a family setup and are brought up in Christian values,” he said.

Cotn Transition Coordinator, Apatsa Kwembe, said the graduating students were from different backgrounds but had been imparted with the same moral skills so that they can be exemplary in their daily undertakings.

“Some of these children are those that we have raised ourselves as Cotn. Some of them are orphans and others from very poor backgrounds and seeing them reaching this stage is amazing to us,” said Kwembe.

Founded in 1995, Cotn’s mission is to provide holistic, Christ-centred care for orphaned and destitute children, enabling them to create positive and lasting change in their nations.