MWENYA’S DIARY

By Mwenya Mukuka

Oval shaped face, milky eyes, fairly light in complexion, tall and coca cola bottle body structure briefly describes, Mrs. Angela Daka-Jere now late and lying seven feet under, at Leopards hill cemetery in the Zambian capital Lusaka.

‘Why my lovely daughter, why didn’t you say, look at child you have left, surely you could have waited for him to grow…….’ Cried out her mother as the pall bearers lowered the gold coated coffin into the grave. The sparkling casket got everyone talking, because it was very expensive, basically it was one and a half.

‘I wanted my wife to lie in a very expensive casket because of the love I had for her’ the husband was overheard commenting by one of the sales ladies at the coffin shop.    
Angela or Angel as her work mates fondly referred to her, due to her soft hearted and untiring hand of helping the needy in society, she was a pillar to many people’s lives. Being a quality inspector in the ministry of works and supply accorded her a chance to take several trips out of town.    

On one of the trips in the eastern part of the country, she met Partner Jere with whom she tied the Knot with, after two years. At First Jere was a gentleman, but things changed when Angela could not bare any child. Several visits to different gynecologists coupled with prayers and fasting all proved fruitless.

This development now made her desperate for she feared loosing the husband she loved too much to other women who probably could give him children. Barrenness is something that Angela never thought of from childhood. She discussed with friends how many children she was going to have. So the development where she could not have children brought misery to her especially having lived in a society where not having children is a ‘taboo’ and stigma oriented.    

Angela was now very unhappy. The lovely husband that complemented her on anything she did, was now just another woman. Beatings were now the order of the day. Each time she asked where he had been the previous night, the response was a blow onto the once upon a time princess’ face to him, she became lousy to Jere.

To cream it all, Jere brought in a young lady in their matrimonial home besides the many other concubines as a price for Angela’s failure to bear a child. Angela now stopped work because she was failing to concentrate.

Tuesday November the 3 rd, 2005, marked the way to the grave for Angela. She woke up early and stood by the guest bedroom’s door where her husband had been sleeping with the young ‘wife’. As the young lady was coming out, she grabbed her and demanded her leave.     

‘You should leave! I am now carrying my husband’s child…’ She announced while holding the young lady’s throat.

‘What?’ questioned Jere from behind the door in a rush to pull Angela away from the young lady.   

Angela had received the good news from the Doctor that despite having had monthly menstrual circles for the past 4 months she was actually heavily pregnant.

She withheld the ‘news’ from her husband because she did not know how he was going to receive it.

Upon getting that she was pregnant, she received all sorts of insults and Jere accused the pastor to Angela of having impregnated her.

‘As far as I can remember I had met with you five months ago, and you are barren, you devilish woman, why didn’t you tell me?’ He sconned her.

“I did not know  that I was pregnant for I kept having my menses, …….” Angela said amid sobs while tears rolled down her no longer beautiful face.    

Jere totally denied the responsibility and subjected her to all sorts of abuse you can dream of, especially after the departure of the young concubine he brought in. Angela was abused physically, emotionally and above all, in her last days of the pregnancy, she was deserted leaving her no option but to her aunty that abused her in childhood. She could not go to her mother in the village. There again she was let to deliver Dalitso alone.

Jere never went to see the child at least in the first 6 months still insisting that the pastor had fathered him. During the pregnancy, Angela tested positive to HIV which Jere never knew of, as she feared for her life. With the involvement of elders, Jere finally reconciled with Angela yet the abuse continued. Rarely a day passed without reference to Dalitso as the pastor’s son. These emotional abuses reduced the once flamboyant, energetic, flashy, lovely Angela to a 40 kilogram weight; she basically was paper weight and pale. But she never stopped praying to God that one day this was going to pass and start enjoying life all over again. At times she thought it was just a long reoccurring nightmare but alas, it was real. One night Jere came back drunk and beat Angela to the point of death citing the departure of her concubine as a reason. Dalitso cried ‘Dad, Dad leave mummy alone……” but never stopped the beating until she stooped crying. Angela was found dead the following day holding Dalitso in her alms.

Jere organized all he could in his means for a decent funeral of Angela; For sure the funeral was talk of the town.

The following day relatives went back to check on Angela’s grave as per tradition.

“Ho, dear God……Angela’s body is laying naked right on the side of her grave. She has been exhumed”   Her cousin told the other relative on phone who was left back at the funeral house discussing how they were going to deal with Jere..   

After investigation it was discovered that Jere had hired thugs to exhume Angela’s body and instructed they take the dress together with the gold coated casket claiming he spent a lot of money such that he could not let it rot when he could resale it.
Poor Angela abused even in her grave! Abused to the grave…..

Up to date Jere is on the run…Have you seen him? Please report him so that he answers to the charges he ran from.

Angela in her early 30’s was indeed a rose still blossoming! May her soul rest in eternal peace.