Benjamin Mogale was a man of great integrity and was well respected by his community. At the age of 52, he still worked at a Transportation company as a driver. They transported goods to disadvantaged communities countrywide. Consolidated deliveries, the company Benjamin worked for, was well known for the transformational role it played in people’s lives and that made the community love Benjamin more.

He lived in Soweto with his wife, three beautiful daughters and his son. All his children were grown up and were working. His youngest had just finished Matric and was going to attend college the following year. His wife, Betty, owned a Day-care centre that operated in their community to assist young mothers to care for their kids when they were at work.

The Mogale family was doing well for themselves and they were loved and respected. Everybody in the community looked up to them; young kids aspired to be like them when they grow up. But the Mogale family kept appearances; their household was not as perfect as people thought. Benjamin’s character outside the house was the total opposite of his character at home.

Benjamin was abusive to his family. He was an aggressive man who shouted and beat his wife. His family didn’t know what Benjamin had turned into. He had changed from a loving husband and father to an abusive angry hulk. His behaviour was worsening by the day and he would never tell his family what was bothering him. Instead he would take it out on whoever was around to experience his violent outbursts.

His family was torn apart. They started hating him because he was hurting them very much. Betty sometimes blamed herself for Benjamin’s strange behaviour. As much as she tried to keep the family together, it was taking all her strength being a wife to him and a protective mother.

She wished that things could go back to normal and they can be a happy family again. Benjamin was getting darker by the day. A deep dark secret was eating away at him. He couldn’t tell his family because he was afraid they would hate him and the community would turn against him.

Benjamin kept the secret to himself. When he went on his trips he would go for about a week, two at the most. The family would be happy when he was gone. Sometimes he would return happy and Betty would be shocked, but most times he returned angry. It was almost as if he didn’t want to be around his family anymore.

One night Benjamin packed some of his belongings in a little suitcase with all his important documents. When his family was fast asleep and unaware of what he was doing, Benjamin disappeared without a trace.

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Let’s chat: What do you think Benjamin’s secret is?