When I regained consciousness, my head was heavy and, as soon as I touched my head, I saw blood. I was in a dark room with no windows, and it had a bed and a high chairs. Sipho was sitting next to me.
“Mhmm mmhm,” He was humming.
“Sipho, I was not leaving, I was visiting my parents, they called me last night.”
“Why didn’t you look back when I called you? Huh?”
“Sipho …”
“Hey, shut up! You women are all liars and cheaters. All you want is money from us men! I took care of you Nomasonto, now you want to leave me? Huh?”
“No!”
“Shut up! Sonto, do you know how many sacrifices I’ve made just to be with you, just to make you happy? Now I have no wife, no children. I killed them all, my four children and my wife, Nomasonto! My wife! She was leaving with my children and it’s all because of you, woman!” Sipho yelled.
“You had a wife? … Sipho,” I said.
“Shut up! Let me finish, woman. She found out about us and she told me she was leaving with my children. I couldn’t let her leave, and I needed to do something. I loved her a lot and I couldn’t let her be with anyone else but me.”
“Sipho, you’re crazy.”
“Yes, I am crazy, and I am crazy about you. You made me crazy, I am crazy in love with you Nomasonto Khumalo.”
“But you didn’t have to kill her, you shouldn’t have done that. I loved you. We would’ve started a new family somewhere, and you would see your children and support them whenever you wanted. Where did you kill them? How?” I asked in disbelief.
“I don’t owe you any explanation, but the same way I killed her, I will do to you, mark my words. But, for now, I wanna enjoy myself with you and make some money before I end your life. No one will look for you, no one cares about you. You mark my words.”
“Sipho, babe, trust me, I will never leave the house without telling you. I won’t tell anyone what happened to your wife and children. We will move on with our lives and focus on ourselves. Please babe, don’t do this to me, I love you.”
“Shut up! You don’t love me, no one loves me, not even my parents. No one, I mean no one!” he yelled, pointing a gun at my head.
“I am sorry, Sipho.”
He looked at me and then left me tied up. He came back and did what he said he would do. He raped me while I was tied up, and then he left me in so much pain. He did the same thing over and over again, and he let me starve too. I lost a lot of weight and, with me not bathing and taking care of my hygiene, I developed a lot of problems. I started developing an infection, which caused my vagina to burn and itch very bad.
I cried in pain all alone, and Sipho would still rape me even though he saw that my vagina had a problem. One day, I got so mad that I ended up plotting against him. He came in with an old man, who was in his 80’s. I could see he was mentally ill, and Sipho told him to rape me. He would bring dirty old men to rape me, and then later pay them, some even paid him.
The thought of killing Sipho was what kept me going, and I always had a voice in my head saying: “You should kill this devil”.
One lucky day, I managed to trick him. I grabbed his gun and shot him eight times. I was later helped by a stranger who saw me walking across the street. I wished I could see a bus or truck passing by so I could throw myself in front of it.
I am now behind bars. It’s been two years since I got arrested, and my baby boy is 1 year 3 months old. He lives with my mother, and I still don’t know who the biological father is, but I am refusing to say it is Sipho Kunene. Even today, when I am sleeping in these jail cells, I can still hear him screaming my name, asking me to not shoot him. I’m still waiting for the officials to approve my parole request so I can better mine and my child’s lives and be free again.
My name is Nomasonto Khumalo, I am 23 years old and this my story.
Tell us: Do you think Nomasonto deserved to be imprisoned?