Lesedi was fuming after her father left Lesedi and her mother poor, so poor that they had to ask relatives for assistance. Lesedi’s father left them because of a new girlfriend he had. Everybody knew that he was cheating on his wife and was a money-spender. He worked for a big engineering company.

Lesedi had no other choice but to make means and provide for her family. She was an accounting student at UCT but it looked like it was still a long way to go as she was still a first year student. She dropped out and looked for anything she could do, as long it was a paying job. She had used her savings from the pocket money she got from her dad the previous month, just to travel to look for a job.

She finally got a restaurant job where she had to wash and pack away dishes and cutlery. She was the only one doing the dishes and would arrive home very late. She was working so hard for her mom but travelling wasn’t safe! Finally after working so hard, she thought things were about to be better. She was excited that she got paid the previous day and bought groceries. She saved some money and gave some to her mom.

This one day she walked from the train station and met up with two guys she thought she’d run to for help. That’s where she was wrong! Little did she know she was about to disappear.

These guys allowed her to walk with them. They kept walking when she was about to reach her destination Makana street, the guys told her to go with them. That’s where she was last seen…walking with guys at around 20:00 p.m.

That night Lesedi never made it home.

It was now 21:00 p.m. and her mom was ready to go to the police and inform them about her missing daughter. The police attended to the case the following morning. Everyone helped search because Lesedi was well-known in the community. She was a humble girl who was known for humility and her hard work. Now this forced her mom to go to church because she felt she wasn’t getting any kind of help from the police.

She felt like she was going crazy. Her prayer was weak. She was numb and needed all the help she could get. She was desperate and thought to herself she should find a traditional healer that can show where her daughter is.

In her township there was a traditional healer, Jikilanga. Jikilanga was the shortest person there with dirty hair. He would tell people they must leave a message on his dirty hair and must communicate through it. She walked in with fear and was accompanied by her friend Sindiswa. The minute she walked in Jikilanga shouted “Go to the father of that kid. He has the answers!”

Lesedi’s mom, Lorraine, got up and went to find Jabu, Lesedi’s father who hadn’t been seen in two weeks.

Lesedi’s mom was starting to believe that Jabu had something to do with their daughter’s disappearance. They looked everywhere and Lorraine tried to get hold of Jabu’s relatives but nobody knew where he was while everyone was still searching for Lesedi.

Jabu was crossing borders with Lesedi to Mozambique. He was told that the only way he’d have all the riches was when he gave his daughter up to slavery. She’d have to work as a slave for him to be rich in South Africa, because she was a hard-worker. Now, Lesedi was to be given away while her father gained everything out of her hard work.

Life was a nightmare for Lesedi the moment she knew that it was her father that held her hostage. In the car she heard his voice, and felt a bit happy thinking that he was there to save her. But she didn’t understand why he would converse with those animals and laugh with them. They kept her hands and legs tied as the car drove all the way.

In her thoughts she was going to the villages or they were taking her to the forest where they would kill her and feed her to the animals. The car finally stopped and she was taken out of the car. The houses were made of bones. People there didn’t walk up straight. They looked like they were mentally disturbed and have been abused. They spoke a different language a language that only her father understood. Lesedi was to be one of them, a slave for her evil father.

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Tell us what you think: Why do you think people resort to evil ways to gain riches?