The Rapist

by Mumba



THE
RAPIST






Iva Lengwe Mumba



















ILM


Mumba Books
The Rapist


© Iva Lengwe Mumba 2006
Email: ivamumba2006@yahoo.com
Cell: +260 97 803494

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Publisher.

The right of Iva Lengwe Mumba to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

Published by:
Jomwa Musinje Mwale, Lusaka - Zambia


ISBN













“Breathtaking…Splendid characters…thrills the reader to the end…A compelling novel.”
- Nawa Mwitumwa, Author of the book
“EXTINCTION Black Man Endangered Species”





























This is a work of fiction based on actual events and places. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.






















Dedication

To all the girls who lose their virginity through rape and in the process they contract the HIV virus.
They should always remember that, it’s not their fault and
God will punish the offenders. While the attack is on the body the spirit must remain intact.





















Acknowledgements

As always there are many people to thank in a project like this. To all the people who have inspired me, and from whom I have learnt a lot of things in my life, Mrs. Linda Mambwe, Mr. Mafukeni Tembo, Mr. Fredrick Nduna, Mr. Michael Sinyangwe, Mrs. Gertrude Ngoma, and Mr. Kennedy Njamba.

But of course the greatest of all my wife and children who needed my attention when I was piecing this project together.

My colleagues, cherished pals and one time workmates Bright Mwelwa Abonny Choonga Munsaka, Danny Chitembo, Harriet Mwendapole, Astridah Ngosa, Mary Kamanga-Sakala, Elias Mutale Chibeti, and Maureen Zulu-Nkhoma Samaria Kayumba– Marjory Chilufya ,Douglas Siachamba , Ozzy Simukulwa, James Phiri, Davies Kasaro, Mathews Banda , Ngombo Kayonde, Brenda Chilufya,George Mwila,Rex Tembo,Juanita Banda,Agness Jere,Alice Mwanamwali , Geoffrey Mulobela, Grace Tembo,Fred Mubita, Yona Chiguma, Bruce Chulu,Vincent Tamba ,William,Chanda, George Mapulanga,Ivy Hatyoka,Alice Kasonde, Jane Mbao Lwimba Kabelu, Doris Kumwenda, Phyllis Banda peace be with you for being what you’ve always been – great people.







Some important and helpful facts about HIV/AIDS.

a. A person who knows they are HIV-positive can seek early treatment that will enable them to stay healthy longer and they can take precautions to ensure that they do not pass the virus on to someone else.
b. Contact with sweat or tears has never been shown to result in transmission of HIV.
c. HIV cannot be transmitted through toilet seats or doorknob handles; touching, hugging, holding hands, or cheek kissing an HIV-infected person; or sharing eating utensils with an HIV-infected person.
d. Antiretroviral drugs do not keep an individual from passing the virus to others.
e. To date, there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, and there are no vaccines to prevent HIV infection.
f. HIV is transmitted through contact with an HIV-positive person’s body fluids, such as semen, pre-ejaculate fluid, vaginal fluids, blood, or breast milk. HIV can also be transmitted through needles contaminated with HIV-infected blood, including needles used for tattooing or body piercing.
g. Education remains the most effective way for HIV prevention.






Chapter 1


There was commotion at Namwala girls Secondary School this Friday morning, the grade twelve just finished their final exams, it is a situation of mixed feelings, some pupils are excited that they have finally finished secondary school education and were ready to move into colleges and universities other are sad that they will miss their cherished friends.

Eighteen year old Mutinta walked slowly from the classroom to her dormitory to go and pack her belongings for the very last time. She was saying good bye to the school that made her happy. She was the head girl and the brightest girl at Namwala Girls Secondary School. Every one respected her, some girls even referred to her as ‘semi-teacher’ because of her humility, respect and leadership qualities.

She strode slowly into her room and sat on the bed, her head in her palms. She would have loved to stay on at school. She dreaded going back home. She wished to go somewhere else but she did not know any other relative apart from her parents.

She slowly started packing her belongings in her trunk.

Mutinta lived in Mazabuka with her father, Mr. Hansoka a local business man . Her mother died while she was in grade eight and she lived with her father only since then. Her mother died from a prolonged sickness and she was not told what it was that killed her. Her mother would always complain of anything including headache, malaria and diarrheal . After the death of her mother Mutinta and her father were both devastated, she was the only child and she loved her mother so much.

Her father started drinking heavily after that and it was common knowledge in the entire Mazabuka town that Mr. Hansoka was a womanizer, and that piece of information Mutinta knew because her father would bring different women into their home every night. The previous holidays Mutinta saw a cache of love letters that she found in the hidden part of their house. The letters were obscene and juvenile.

Despite this Muntinta led a very boring and uneventful life, she had no friends and at eighteen she was still a virgin. She was scared to even talk to boys because her father always told her point blank that if she ever slept with any man, he would kill her.

However Mutinta used to get a lot of attention from boys both at home and at school because in addition to being intelligent, she was equally very beautiful, she was naturally light in complexion, medium height, small waist, round face, nice hips and she always wore a wide smile. At school one teacher always troubled her for an affair while at home, the boys swung around her like bees. However Mutinta would always remember her father’s words.

After she finished her packing, Mutinta walked out of her room and stood outside with the trunk besides her. From a distance she saw a group of her close friends, mostly prefects walking towards where she was. When they reached where she was standing, one of them who was acting as a spokesperson cleared her throat and said “Madam Head Girl, we came to wish you God’s blessings in your future Endeavors, the leadership qualities that you have are very rare and we are certain that you will use them in your future.”

****
In reply Mutinta said “I am also very happy to have worked very well with you, Guys, I will always remember this as being one of the best experiences in my life. You don’t know how happy I was each time I came back here and how sad I became each time I had to come back home. We were not liked by our fellow pupils here at school because we were very strict with the rules but I am sure they will appreciate our strictness in future. Thank you for coming, I only wish there was a grade thirteen then we would have continued seeing each other.”

As the girls moved away slowly Mutinta got her trunk and headed towards the waiting buses. She went to the one going to Lusaka and bought herself a ticket, “This is the last time I am doing this journey” she solemnly said almost to herself. She took the seat next to the driver who smiled at her and she smiled back.

The journey back home from school was uneventful, just filled with the usual idle chitchat among the school leavers. Mostly about future plans. Mutinta was however engrossed in her own world, thinking about her life after school, she knew she would go to University but before then what would become of her, she thought pensively.

They reached Choma at twelve noon and the bus parked at BP filling Station for refueling, all the passengers moved out of the bus to enable the bus to refuel. Mutinta was feeling hungry so she decided to rush to a take-away near CR bus stop When she reached there she bought herself a Sausage, chips and a tangy drink.

After some ten minutes or so the bus left Choma and headed towards Lusaka, again there was less activity along the way. They reached Mazabuka, and Mutinta was uneasy for some reason, her heart was pumping faster and she knew that something somewhere was not right. Over the years she had developed an instinct of sensing danger and that was the feeling she had at that particular time.

She disembarked from the bus with her trunk, lifting it with all the effort. She could hardly lift her legs as she tried to lift the trunk with both hands. She could not put it on her head because she did not want to injure the pride of a beautiful and modern girl so she decided to hire a wheel barrow commonly known as Zamcab for five pin.

Their house was near the main market where her father ran a shop for groceries. The house was relatively big with a master bedroom, Mutinta’s room, a kitchen and a massive living room. She looked at her watch, the time was 4 pm. As she got closer to the house she saw a woman sitting on the verandah of their home busy knitting. She stopped and checked if what she was seeing was real.

When she realized that she was not dreaming, she went closer and the woman stood up said with a wide smile on her face “Mutinta welcome”. Mutinta immediately noticed that the woman was pregnant. She touched the lower part of her chin and opened her mouth wide. The woman who visibly saw Mutinta do this then moved closer and stifled a voice saying “Mutinta I am Natasha, your friend from the primary school days, don’t you recall me. “ Mutinta then remembered her best friend from primary school, she went and hugged her but quickly pushed her away gently and asked “ But what was she doing at her fathers house, Natasha flinched even further but managed to respond “It’s a long story,

“Go into the house and put your trunk in your bedroom then I will explain to you.” Said Natasha. By this time she had managed to pull herself together and as she said this, she was looking Mutinta straight into her eyes.

Mutinta did not know what it was but she went inside the house and put her trunk in her bedroom, she did not notice any change in her bedroom since she left three months ago.

She quickly went inside the bedroom and put the trunk on the bed. She came out and sat next to her friend on the verandah “What is happening, Natasha”, Mutinta quizzed looking Natasha straight into the eyes. “It is a long story my friend, I know you will be mad with me but you should be attentive and listen to my story”. Replied Natasha.



CHAPTER 2



“This is my story” Natasha started as she put down her knitting needles and moved closer to Mutinta.

“After our grade seven examinations, my parents died in car crush, I was very devastated, you know how well we lived, we had everything, massive house, cars and I never longed for anything. My father used to give me K100 pin every week as my pocket money.

After burial my father’s relatives took all the things that we had. You can imagine villagers taking fridges and cookers even when they did not have electricity in the village.
Mutinta who was listening attentively chipped in “And you sat there doing nothing, if it were me I wouldn’t have allowed them”.
“I tried to protest but being young and a girl for that matter, there was little I could do.” Natasha Responded.
“But you could have gone to Victim Support Unit or you should have sued them” continued Mutinta.
“All those were things I learnt about later on when it was even too late to pursue the case” Answered Natasha.
As a result I went to live with my aunt in Lusaka, in Chipata Compound, life changed completely, from a good life to a very bad one.

I had never lived in a compound before and life became very rough and unbearable, my aunt was unemployed but she depended on a married boyfriend who used to come to our rented two roomed house every day between 7pm and leave around 9pm. Each time he came, aunt would ask me to sit outside while they locked themselves inside. That time I was not sure what they were doing but now I know.
Mutinta interjected saying”What do you mean?, you have lost me there.”
“Sorry that is adult talk but it shows that I have surely out grown you, I am certain that time will come for you to know these things, I do not want to pre-empt your womanhood because you may just get confused”

Then Natasha continued with her story.

“My aunt could not even afford to pay for school for me so that was the end of my schooling.
At 9pm they would unlock the door and the man would leave and I would sleep in the same bed with my aunt.

This went on for two years. Then one day my aunt called me, we sat in the sitting room and she started telling me.
“Your uncle has given me some money to start some business, I have been thinking about what I can do and I think I have now found the business that can give me good profit. I have decided to start going to Nakonde to order clothes for resell here in Lusaka, you will be remaining to look after the house alone. If your uncle comes, you should just cook food for him . I know you are a disciplined girl so you cannot do silly things.”

That is how my aunt started her business trips to Nakonde. During her absence my uncle would come and I would cook for him as instructed by my aunt.

Then one day uncle came with something wrapped in a kaki envelop, he looked slightly drunk because he was more jovial than usual. He sat next to me and said ‘Natasha, I can’t believe how much you have grown since you came to live here. You have turned into a woman… do you have any boyfriends? “he asked trying to stifle my laughter at the question ,I just said “thank you, and no I don’t have any boy friends.” “Really a pretty girl like your self, I find that hard to believe.” He then went on to say ‘today is my birthday; I took the liberty of purchasing a bottle of wine so that you can help me celebrate.” Your aunt will be mad at you if you don’t help me to celebrate my birthday, give me two glasses”. He commanded me with a very strong voice.

I reluctantly stood up and went to the display cabinet and picked two glasses. I went to the wash basin and rinsed them before giving them to him. He went on to say “this is not beer my girl, it’s wine, you can test some and you will see you wont get drunk. Scared of my aunt getting mad with me, I took the glass and sipped from it, it was a sweet drink just like sprite and you know I had not tested alcohol before.

Mutinta who was engrossed into the story and who really looked taken cleared her throat and quizzed Natasha “Are very sure sprite tastes like wine or whatever it was?

“Yes” Natasha responded and continued “and I must say it felt good and I started feeling nice like I was in a different world, then we started chatting with my uncle non-stop. I even moved closer to him and he started touching my breasts which brought a sensational feeling which I had never experienced before in my whole life. I started feeling sleepy as he pulled me closed to him and suddenly I just went blank.

At 4am I felt that I was sleeping next to someone. At first I thought it was my aunt but when I forced myself to wake up, I was scared to death, I was sleeping besides my uncle, I run my hand down my body and discovered that I was completely naked. As I shook him to wake him up, I was sweating and my heart was beating very fast.
“what happened, what did you do to me” I said almost shouting at the top of my voice” he held me tight with both his hands and said “child, the neighbours will hear you, we can handle this maturely, listen, what ever has happened is between the two of us, you don’t tell no one, if you tell your aunt, I will stop coming here and I will get my money back and you will both suffer”.

He dressed up quickly and left, leaving me absolutely shocked. I couldn’t sleep any more so I decided to wake up .As I said I had nothing on me, no pant, no bra, completely naked. I lifted one leg and stepped down from the bed; I noticed blood on my thigh and followed up to private parts. Then I realized that I had just lost my virginity.

Aunt was arriving that day so I gained courage, put up a face and took the bed sheets, washed them and hung them on the line outside. I checked my pants and it was ton, so I threw it in the pit latrine. At 8am my aunt arrived from her business trip and the first question she asked was about my uncle, “Has he been coming, how is he” I felt pain run through my spine and I said “yes aunt he came last night, he said it was his birthday, so he did not stay long, he left quickly.” “Why have you washed the beddings because we washed them last week” she asked I said I had nothing to do so I decided to wash them again”.

Then Aunt noticed an empty bottle of wine in the sitting room and asked. “What about that bottle, who drank the contents? “I quickly said” Uncle came with it. He finished it while here and left the bottle


The next time aunt traveled. Uncle came and was very nice to me, he gave me K100 pin and asked for sex, I protested but he threatened to tell aunt about it, so I agreed. It was very good and I enjoyed it. That was the beginning of our sexual relationship and I wished my aunt could travel all the time. But I never agreed to him having sex with me without paying for it. I made K2 million from my uncle and my relationship with my uncle started making me cheeky with my aunty.

One day aunty told me “I hope you have not started doing silly things, after she noticed that my dressing had changed. I said “I am a grown up woman and I know how to handle my self.”

Then one day my aunt said she was leaving for Nakonde for her usually business trips. She left around 4 pm as usually. I went to the pay phone and called uncle and asked him to come after work because I was feeling randy. Around 7 pm uncle arrived home and I prepared food for him.

Afterwards we had sex and he said that he was spending a night with me. Around midnight there was a nock on the door and I woke up quickly and asked who it was. Aunt said “it’s me open” Before I could open for her, I quickly went back into the bedroom and picked up my clothes.
I also got one of the beddings and came and threw it on the settee while I told uncle to wear a vest and a bombasa.

Within a few seconds I opened up for her, she looked at me and said “the trip did not taken place so I came back” she entered the sitting room as I threw myself on the settee and covered myself with the beddings. She stopped and said “why are you sleeping there” I said “uncle is there in the bedroom” she said in a high pitched voice “who” and rushed into the bedroom”.

She said to uncle “what are you doing here” uncle said “what kind of a stupid question is that, is this not my home.” She said “yes but how can you sleep here if am not here, besides you have never slept here ever since we started going out” uncle then said “what is your problem, do I need to take permission to sleep in a home that I pay for, I have a problem at home, that’s why I am sleeping here “Aunt then said” Your think, I don’t know that you have been sleeping with this stupid girl, “

Uncle got up from the bed and slapped aunt hard on the face and said “foolish woman, how can you accuse me of such a thing without proof.” I also got up and said “Aunt so you don’t trust me, I am leaving just now and I started parking” I parked all my belongings, I had K3 million on me and besides uncle had promised me that he would pay for a house for me in Linda Compound because he wanted me to be near him. He lived in Chilanga.

After packing all my belongings, I moved out of the house as uncle pleaded with me to wait until morning. I just said “I can’t live here with a woman who does not trust me.”

The Chipata compound bus stop was just a stone throw from the home, so I walked to there and found two taxis waiting for passengers, I approached one and said “take me to intercity, how much,”
The driver said “50pin” I wanted to go to intercity and wait for the morning then I would know what to do.

We reached intercity at 2am and I found myself somewhere to sit. Around 8am I called uncle and told him that I was at intercity .Within 30 minutes he came and gave me K500 pin and told me to live the bags in his car and go to Linda compound to look for a house for rent.
I was dropped at City Market because Uncle had to rush back for work.

At city market, I go on a bus for Linda compound to go and hunt for a house and start my own life.

When I reached Linda compound, I went around until I came to a big house with many doors, I saw a woman washing plates and I decided to enquire if she any house for rent.”I am looking for a house to rent” I asked when I came closer to her.”

She looked at me from head to toes before turning and pointing to a door next to hers and said “this one is empty, it is a two roomed and it is going for K150pin per month, “Are you married “she asked” I said no “she then said “that’s fine because there are 10 families here and we are all not married so I think you can live here” you know married women are stupid, they accuse us of going out with their husbands” the owner of the home live behind, so you came go and see her, she is also unmarried.”

I went at the back of the house and found a relatively old woman who took me through the conditions and requirements. Afterwards, I paid K450 pin for three months and I was given the keys. So from the K500pin uncle gave me I remained with K50 pin. I did not want to spend any of my K3 million because I knew how uncle was madly in love with me so I wanted him to get every thing for me. I called him and told him that I had found and paid for the house. He said he was working half day being Saturday, so he would meet me in town.

I took a bus back into town and I met uncle at Central Park, he was driving a vannettee, I got into the passenger’s sit and he immediately asked me what was required. I said “bed, cooker, plates, beddings and a fridge. He said “oh” and went to the ATM and came back within fine minutes.

We drove to Kamwala shopping complex in silence. We got into a shop and uncle bought all the things from the same shop and paid K2.6 million in total.

We drove straight to Linda from Kamwala and that was the beginning my life alone. It brought back some of the good life that I had when my parents were alive. I lent later that my neighbour who I came to know as Bana Mweshi and who became my closest friend was a prostitute. She did every thing to entice me into that business but I refused all the time.

For a period of two years uncle gave me everything that I needed and I lived like a queen. All the neighbours envied me. Then one night uncle did not come, even the following day. After two days I tried to call and the phone was not reachable. I tried again and again and there was no reply.
I was very devastated because I knew that if I did not get in touch with uncle I was going to suffer. I did not know where he worked and lived; I also did not know any of his friends. I could not go back to aunt’s place that was treason.

After one month I came to terms that uncle was gone. I checked my bank account under the bed and I realized that I had used K 1 million since uncle stopped coming, I had K2.5 million remaining. I knew that if I continued eating the money, I would end up languishing. So I decided to start some business with the remaining money. I thought about many things but I finally settled for trading in goats, buying them from here in the villages of Mazabuka and re-selling them in Lusaka.

My first trip was very successful; I bought 15 goats and re-sold them in Lusaka. I made a profit of K800 thousand. I left my profit in Lusaka and came back here;
I was told that in Magoye the goats are slightly cheaper, I dropped at Magoye turnoff and walked to the villages, I bought a total of 20 goats from the same capital I used the previous time. I came to the main road to look for transport; I waved down a 1 ton light truck that was coming from Monze.

I explained that I needed to take the goats to Lusaka. The man behind the wheel was very understanding, we discussed the price and settled for 500 pin. We headed to the village and picked the goats and left for Lusaka. At first we were both quite. We traveled like that until we reached Kafue Bridge. At the road block, we were told to pack on the side of the road. Then a man from the veterinary department came and said “May I see your papers please”
I did not have any papers and so I just said ‘I don’t have’ the man then said “don’t you know that there is an outbreak of foot and mouth disease and Government has banned movement of live stock from southern province “I said “no without really knowing what he was talking about”

The man who was not even smiling went back to where he had come with very long strides. When he came back to the vehicle, he was brandishing a gun in his hand and commanded us “Remove all the animals and put them there” pointing at a distance. The driver of the vehicle tried to plead with the man but he was really a hard nut to crack.

We did as we were told and immediately after we finished, he shot dead all the 20 animals and asked us to leave. I cried to the point of breaking down. But the man insisted that he had done me a favor by asking me to just leave otherwise he was supposed to arrest me for breaking a Government directive.

The driver of the van managed to convince me to leave. I sobbed quietly for the rest of the trip back home.

We reached home at exactly 7pm and I paid off the driver and he continued consoling me saying “You are really devastated and I am really feeling for you, if you don’t mind I can take you out for a drink so that you forget about this bad event.” I thought about it and said to my self “Maybe it can help me.” I allowed the driver to get into the sitting room. I sat right opposite him and said “By the way what is your name “he introduced himself as Jack and that he stayed here in Mazabuka. I also introduced myself to him and told him that I also grew up in Mazabuka. From then on we switched from English to our mother tongue, Tonga.

Thereafter I asked him to wait as I bathed and changed into fresh and descent clothes. When I was ready, we left the house. The time was 9pm. We drove to family 24 hours along Lumumba road where we had our dinner at the chicken shop. It was very deliciously prepared such that I even slightly forgot about my problem.

From there we went to Northmead at a pub called HQ and Jack ordered himself a castle while he got me a bottle of redds. We drunk and chatted on different issues until mid-night. I started feeling good and I was all over Jack as if we had met many years ago.

Around 01am, we left HQ and were supposed to go to O’Hagan’s at MandaHill, but Jack noticed that I could not even stand on my two feet. So he decided that he takes me home and come back and continue drinking alone. When we reached home around 01:30am Jack helped me to get into my house. In my drunken state, I told him to take me to my bedroom.

The following morning, I woke up at 05am like usual and when I went into the sitting room I found Jack sleeping on the sofa. I really felt compassion for him. This really touched my heart because I knew that other men would have taken advantage of me.

From that day Jack and I became very good friends. We stayed for six months as mere friends, but the relationship eventually drifted into an intimate one.

Jack started sponsoring me until one day I discovered that I was pregnant. He then suggested that we start leaving together. That’s how I started living here with your father. When I arrived here I saw pictures of you in the living room and I remembered you, I asked your dad and he confirmed my guess. I explained to him that we were friends but he simply said “my dear right now there is little I can do, you are pregnant and most of all you I love you, when Mutinta comes, we will explain to her and I am certain she will understand.”

Natasha finally and slowly said” I am sure you will take time to understand this situation; I was defenseless when the rape happened and I was very vulnerable when Jack came around. I am not going to interfere with the way you have lived, but I want to do my best to ensure that your dad is cared for.

My first task was to convince your dad to reduce his beer drinking and I am slowly winning as you will notice very soon when he arrives back from work.

Mutinta was very attentive through out the story; she had developed tears in her eyes. Her facial expressions and body posture really showed that she more empathetic than sympathetic to Natasha’s nightmare experience. She stayed silent for some time but after a few minutes she muttered something between sobs “I guess there is little I can do, I have no option but to accept you as my step mother and being a friend I will give you all the support as women of the house and my father’s wife. What has happed to you can happen to any girl, me inclusive.
But for now all I can say is that I am happy that I am still a virgin and I wish to remain so until I get married.












CHAPTER 3


It was getting dark and Natasha wanted to start preparing bathing water and food for her husband. Mutinta helped out with some of the house hold chores.

Around 8pm Mr. Hansoka arrived home sober, it was a rare situation for Mutinta because her father always came home drunk. They exchanged greetings and Mr. Hansoka inquired on how the exams were, saying “I hope you will make it to University of Zambia my daughter, you know you are the only child I have at the movement.”

In reply Mutinta confirmed that by saying “the exams where tough dad but I am sure University of Zambia is a must because, if I don’t go to University of Zambia, nobody from my school will go.”

Then Mr. Hansoka said “My daughter I know that Natasha is your friend, but at the moment, she is my wife, she is a very caring woman who is changing my way of looking at life. The dad you know is different from this one sited next to you right now. I rarely drink and I am home most of the time. My only plea my daughter is that you give her all the support she requires, she has been through a lot.”

Mutinta interjected by coolly saying “Dad, she has already told me everything and I understand.” In fact I really feel pity for her considering that we go a long way back and especially that certain things that we promised each other to accomplish have been compromised by her experiences and current situation.”

They had supper together and around 8pm they retired to bed. Mutinta did not sleep fast; she kept on thinking about what she would do if she had to lose her virginity through rape.

The following day, Natasha woke up early because she was supposed to attend antenatal clinic at Mazabuka General Hospital. She swept the home and prepared bathing water and food for her husband and her newly acquired daughter.

Afterwards she quickly rushed to Mazabuka General Hospital for her antenatal session. This was a special session because the subject was mother to child transmission of HIV. She reached there quite early and later on many other expectant mothers joined her. They were taken to the main hall where the discussion was taking place.

They were joined by a nurse and another man who was introduced as Dr, Mweetwa, and an expert on HIV/AIDs issues.
Dr. Mweetwa who not in the tradition white dust coat for Doctors wore a black pin stripped suit with a purple shirt and a purple neck tie. He stood up and started pacing up and down as the nurse mounted a clip board for demonstrations. After the nurse was through Dr. Mweetwa while rubbing his hands together then finally began the session.
“Ladies welcome to this session, mother-to-transmission (MTCT) is when an HIV positive woman passes the virus to her baby.
This can happen during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or breastfeeding. Without treatment, around 15-30% of babies born to HIV positive women will became infected with HIV during pregnancy and delivery. A further 5-20% will become infected through breast feeding.
Last year around 700,000 children under 15 became infected with HIV mainly through mother-to-child transmission, access to ARVs, Safe delivery practices, and the widespread availably and safe use of breast-milk substitutes. If this intervention were used world wide, they could save the lives of thousands of children.
Effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission requires a three fold strategy.
- Preventing HIV infection among prospective parents.
- Avoiding unwanted pregnancies among HIV positive women.
- Preventing the transmission of HIV from positive mothers to their infants during pregnancy, labour, delivery and breastfeeding”.
The Doctor finally made an earnest appeal to the expectant mothers “I would like to earnestly appeal to you all that to do this you require to know your status, imagine your child suffering for your mistakes, it will be very unfair .Those who require to be tested should come back tomorrow, we will take you through counseling before we can test you. I also urge you to convince your spouses to come and be tested”.

Natasha left immediately after the end of the session; she was touched mostly by the issue of subjecting the unborn baby to the HIV and not sustaining the baby’s life.
When she reached home she shared the lecture with Mutinta who encouraged her to go ahead and take a test, Mutinta was a peer educator and Chairperson of AIDS Club at Namwala Girls Secondary School.
Natasha was convinced to take a test by her step daughter but she did not know how to approach her husband on this issue. After a prolonged discussion with Mutinta, Natasha agreed to talk to her husband.
After supper they retired to bed and immediately they lay on bed Natasha started “Bauhi Mutinta,(father of Mutinta) today when I went for the antenatal session, we had a very important discussion on Mother-To-Child transmission of HIV AIDS and afterwards they asked us to consider taking a test. I have thought about it is the whole day and I think it is important that we know our status.
We can then make a new start in our lives which ever way it goes”.
Mr. Hansoka remained quite for some time. He was a strict traditionist, he had never seen the inside of a hospital since his mother died on the operating table, and she had cancer.
Whenever he felt sick, he always went to consult has spiritual healer who lived in Chikankata area. He believed more in traditional medicine than conventional medicines.
After a protracted debate Mr. Hansoka finally said “My dear, I don’t trust your so called Doctors, I have never been to a hospital or clinic for the past 30 years.
But this does not mean that you must emulate me. You can go ahead and do the test and whatever the result I will give you all the support”.
The following day Natasha went and registered her self for VCT. The counseling took two weeks and after that she was declared ready for testing.
She woke up early that day and did the usual house chores. She was in very high spirits, she wore her best maternity dress made out of a red and while floral material.
She was the second on the queue and she went inside the testing room immediately the other lady left. She did not show any sign of panic because the counseling had prepared her for this.
She sat in front of a big table and the nurse greeted her in Tonga “Mwabuka buti bama” which means good morning Madam in Tonga. She responded politely “Nabuka kabotu.” I have woken up well.
Then she was taken through a series of questioning to test if she was ready for the test.
After the testing, she was informed that she was HIV positive, she did not show any emotions as she left and went back home.
At home she was just jovial as she talked to Mutinta. Who immediately asked what the test results were. She just took out the slip for the results and gave it to her.
Mutinta took the slip form Natasha and studying the contents she exclaimed.
“You are HIV positive, shame! “She stood quite for a while and said loudly “I am sure its dad who has given you this HIV. I know his past behaviors with women”.
Natasha went closer to Mutinta and touched her shoulder and said “It is no time to start finger pointing; we must take this with a lot of maturity and positivity. You are a peer educator. So you know that stigmatization is what kills HIV positive people.”
When Mr. Hansoka arrived home from the shop, the news was broken to him by his wife. He did not show any emotions largely because he was blaming himself considering his life style before he met young Natasha who had completely managed to change his life. He stopped womanizing, he drunk lightly, and he had become more caring to Mutinta.
Mr. Hansoka and Mutinta agreed in unison to have a positive attitude to Natasha. But Mr. Hansoka totally refused to take HIV test. he said to himself “I am sure I am also positive but for now I can not test because I don’t want to break by vows of not entering a hospital or clinic.”
The following day Natasha went to the hospital to commence the Antritro-viro Treatment (ART).
She was told that she was on first line stage and she needed to take two tablets a day. She was also given tablets for the prevention of mother to child transmission.








CHAPTER 4

Mr. Hansoka left home to go to his shop, but the issue of HIV continued to haunt him.
He did not want to go to the hospital and be tested. After a lot of thinking and re-thinking he finally decided to go to Chikankata, to consult his spiritual healer. He left without telling anyone, he drove very fast and reached Chikankata by 10am.
The spiritual healer called Samboka lived 10Km from the Lusaka –Livingstone main road, Mr. Hansoka knew the way very well, it was a small and bumpy road but over the past twenty years, he had learnt the easy way to get there.
At exactly 10:30am Mr. Hansoka reached the village of Samboka. It was village comprising only five house mostly Samboka’s close relatives. He was received by a young lady who gave him a stool to sit on and greeted him respectfully. She also asked him how home was.
He also responded with deep respect and immediately asked where Samboka was.
She responded “He is in the fields; we will send someone to call him for you just now.”
After a few minutes Samboka arrived with a hoe on his shoulder. He was relatively old man, medium height, light in complexion; with a massive face .His voice was however very light such that if you did not see him, you would think it was a woman speaking. He greeted Hansoka affectionately and pulled a stool and sat next to him.
They exchanged a few questions and answers and then Hansoka quickly said “I have a problem which needs your quick indulgency and attention, you remember my young and lovely wife I told you about,” before Samboka could even answer “he quickly continued “Yesterday she went for an HIV test and she was found positive, I am very scared by this new, Are you able to tell if I am positive too,”
Samboka first laughed loudly and then started bragging “My dear I am not only able to tell if you are positive, I am also able to cure that disease without effort, you know the Minister of Public affairs, I cured him, you also know the Managing Director of Fyonse Enterprises, I have cured him. Don’t worry my dear if you have HIV I will cure you. Come with me.”
Hansoka followed Samboka into the usual hut where he performed his rituals. He asked Hansoka to take off his clothes completely and stand in the middle of the hut, he asked him to sit down. Samboka took a blanket and covered him but before he did he took some herbs and put them on the floor and asked him to sit on them. He then said “If after 10 minutes your manhood gets an erection then you are positive, if not then you are negative.
Hansoka stayed inside the blanket for five minutes without anything happening, then after that he noticed that his manhood started bulging slowly but surely. He suddenly started sweating heavily after he realized that he was HIV positive. Samboka came after 10 minutes and removed the blanket and noticed the manhood erect to full strength length .He held it in his hands and so the nerves protruding from the skin. He had never experienced such an erection in the past ten years.
The he stated having flashbacks on who would have given him the virus after counting out Natasha, “Maybe Jessie no! Betty no! Cathy no! Doreen no! Debby no! Kathy no! Lisa no! Monty, no!” He did not know who to blame so he just sat down and stated crying.
Samboka consoled him when he arrived back in the hut. He told him to dress up and not to worry on anything because he was going to cure him. Within three minutes Hansoka was fully dressed. They sat on stools inside the hut and Hansoka who was scared to death then said “What next.”
Samboka with a wide smile on his face repeated what he had earlier said “Like I told you earlier my dear, curing AIDs is not a problem but it requires you be courageous enough and provide me with what I want to concoct the medicine for you and your wife.”
Hansoka stood up immediately and reacted “I will do anything to get cured; anything Doctor and I mean anything.”
Samboka then said “please sit down, this is what you should do, you must sleep with a virgin, and then take some of the blood that comes out when virginity is lost and put it in this bottle.” Handing a small bottle to Hansoka “Samboka continued by saying “Bring, the bottle with the blood here afterwards and I will make you the medicine that will cure both and your wife.
Hansoka remained quite for sometime then whispered “You mean I should rape a virgin to get the blood.” Samboka played down his statement in the same tone” I did not say you rape anyone, I said you should sleep with a virgin.”
Hansoka who was by then confused instead of convinced just agreed. “Yes will do it”
He left Chikankata immediately after and when he arrived home, no one knew that he had even gone out to Chikankata. For one week he kept on thinking about how and where to find a virgin who would co-operate with him so that he could get the required blood.
He started befriending a grade six school girl called Moono, who lived in the neighborhood. He was sure she was a virgin, she was fourteen and she lived with her step father. He gave her many presents until one day he asked her to accompany him to Monze where he said he was going on a business trip. Surprisingly the girl agreed without any effort.
The following morning around 9am Hansoka picked up the girl from the road side just a few meters away from where they lived. Hansoka had bought a bottle of Autumn Harvest which he poured into the bottle of alcohol free wine as part of his master plan. When they reached Magoye turn off. Hansoka offered some of the wine to the young girl, she refused giving the reason that she did not drink beer. Hansoka insisted that wine was not beer but wine. He took bottle and gave it to the girl showing her the label which read” Alcohol percentage zero”
The girl agreed to test the wine after being convinced by the label on the bottle. She took one full glass and then another one. Hansoka could immediately see that she had started feeling very nice. She started moving closer to his seat. She extended her hand and touched Hansoka’s thigh and started moving it slowly towards his private parts. Hansoka, who only thought his plans were working well, did not take time to think about the impressing she was delivering. He therefore gently pushed her hand away.
As soon as she finished the third glass of wine, she started dozing and within a few minutes she blacked out.
Hansoka took her and laid her comfortably on the passenger’s seat. He drove fast and reached Monze at 10:30am.
At the road block just before Monze, the Police Officer asked what was wrong with the young girl, Hansoka replied politely “Nothing officer, this is my daughter I am taking her to school, she is merely catching a siesta.”
When he reached Monze, he decided to drive to a hide out lodge on the outskirts of Monze town; he parked far away from the reception and walked quickly there. He inquired for a room that was secluded from the others. A young and attractive receptionist replied in a melodious voice “K50 pin” Hansoka quickly paid for the room and got the key.
He went and drove the car and packed it right in front of the room. When he was sure no one was seeing him, he quickly took the girl and laid her on the bed and locked the door immediately. He was feeling very guilty about what he wanted to do. The girl was relatively beautiful with a plump body of a young girl. He sat on the bed besides her thinking on what will happen to him if the girl reported him to the police afterwards.
But one thing kept on telling him to go ahead and do it if he wanted to get cured of HIV. He shook the girl hard to see if she could wake up, but she was only groaning. He then started with removing her top and exposed nicely round and firm breasts, he then took off the skirt and she remained with a pant that must have been white when it was bought but had turned into dark white. Then he took off the pants and she lay there completely naked.
By then Hansoka was feeling an erection slowly building up, he quickly undressed himself while perspiring deeply.
Hansoka had sex with the girl for almost one hour but no blood was anywhere to be seen. The girl finally woke up. She looked at Hansoka who was looking finished; she immediately asked “Where are we?” Hansoka trembling said “Monze my dear, sorry for everything, I will give you anything you want” To his surprise the girl said “Sorry for what, I did not feel anything, come and do again” as the she pulled Hansoka closer to her.
Hansoka resisted and retorted “You! You have had sex before but you are only fourteen.” The girl smiled and then replied” I have been sleeping with my step father since I was twelve and he is far much bigger than you” pointing at his manhood.
Hansoka knew he had lost it but he did not want to show his emotions. He simply said “Sorry my dear but I can’t do any more, I am tired, we will do next time,” we need to start off now; they could start looking for you. He looked at his wrist watch and he noticed that the time was 12pm.
They dressed up quickly and Hansoka took K100 pin and gave it to the girl. He appealed to her not to tell any one about what had happened.
****
That night, Hansoka failed to sleep; he kept on thinking about what had happened during the day. The following days Hansoka went to the post office to get mail from his box. He found only two letters, one for him and one for his daughter. He opened his and it was a bill from Zesco. Then he noticed something written on the envelop back for his daughter’s letter, he turned it and read it, it said “from yours and only” he did not want to accept that his only daughter could have a boy friend so he decided to open the letter. It read “Dear Sweetheart” he read through quickly and he came across something that attracted him. It said” My baby, although you insist that you intend to remain a virgin until marriage, I am ready to wait for you.” His heart skipped a beat, he smiled to this revelation.
Hansoka folded the letter and put it back in the envelope and sealed it nicely. He had found a virgin he was looking for, but the only complication was that the virgin was his lovely and only daughter.
He didn’t want to think about anything silly. The following day he went to Chikankata and narrated his predicament to his spiritual healer.
Samboka as usual just laughed and said “My dear, what’s wrong with sleeping with your daughter, most of the people I have cured have slept with their relatives because virgins are difficult to find anywhere else nowadays.”
“But what happens if she realizes that she has been raped by me” Samboka said “No my dear she wont know and no one else will”
Samboka then produced two tree leaves and gave them to Hansoka and told him what to do.
When Hansoka reached home that night he called his wife and daughter and said” My wife, you have been through a lot of trouble of late, I want to take you for a picnic at River Hotel tomorrow, Mutinta you will remain to look after the shop and the house, we will return on Sunday, the day after tomorrow.
Natasha was very excited with the idea and prepared food to carry on the picnic. In the morning Mutinta left for the shop as Natasha was getting into the vehicle in readiness for departure for the picnic.

I have forgotten something in the house Hansoka said as he was getting into the vehicle. He rushed back into the house, went straight to Mutinta’s room and put one of the leaves under the pillow.

They arrived at River Motel quite early; they went fishing and boat cruise on the Kafue River which lay just a few yards from the Motel. It was an exiting outing for Natasha, the only one of its kind in her entire life.

In the evening, they had a nice dinner at the Motel restaurant. At exactly 8pm they decided to retire to bed. When they got to their room, Natasha went into the toilet to relieve herself while her husband remained sited on one of the chairs in the room. It was his perfect chance to place the other leaf under the pillor where Natasha would sleep. He quickly did that and then took a magazine from the dressing table and started reading.

Natasha, who was complaining of being tired, just undressed quickly and threw herself on the bed. Within two minutes she was sleeping like a dead person. Hansoka who was still seated on the chair pretending to be seriously reading the magazine shook her hand to wake her up but no sign of anything. He quickly took the key, locked her in and went to the car park, took the car and drove fast back to Mazabuka.

He reached his house around 21:30hrs. The people had stopped moving that much, he was dressed in a long coat and a hut and dank glasses.

He quickly checked that there was no one watching, he opened the door with the spare key and he walked inside the house on tip toes. He was sure Mutinta was dead asleep unless she had discovered the leaf under the pillow and removed it.

He closed the door behind him and locked it. Immediately he entered Mutinta’s bedroom he saw her sleeping on top of the blanket with her pants on. He started trembling. He knew that time was running out. So he did what he had come for.

He took the blood and put it in the small bottle that was given by the doctor. He checked that there was no trail whatsoever in the process and he walked out leaving all the doors open. He drove very fast and reached River Motel in the record 45 min. He opened the door and quickly undressed and slept besides his wife. He did not manage to fall asleep the whole night. He was scared to remove the leaf because he did not want Natasha to wake up and start troubling him for sex.

Around 7am he removed the leaf and he immediately noticed some movements. He woke her up and said ‘Sweetie, it is time for breakfast, you have to bath, and I have bathed already’

Natasha slowly removed the blanket and raised her head. ‘What is the time daddy’ as she fondly called him.

Hansoka looked at his watch and said ‘7:30am my dear, what has happened today, you are always the first to wake up. She replied ‘I don’t know, but for some reason, I am feeling very tired.”

She bathed quickly such that within a few minutes they walked to the restaurant and had their breakfast.

During breakfast, Natasha told her husband that her eye was twitching which meant that something bad could have happened somewhere. She even suggested that they return home immediately after breakfast. Mr Hansoka, however although at the back of his head he knew protested and said ‘Sweetie, we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves, why should we go back home, I have never known you to be superstitious ’

However after Natasha insisted Hansoka gave in and they left around 10am. They decided to stop at Mwana Mainda to buy some meat. Mwana mainda is a butcher’s den where cows and bulls are slaughtered and sold at cheap price. Over the weekends people travel from as far as Lusaka to come and buy the meat. They left at 11am and arrived in Mazabuka at exactly 12pm.

When they reached home Mutinta noticed that the door was wide open .She called out Mutinta’s name but there was no reply. She noticed that the door to her room was wide open as well, she rushed inside and she immediately saw Mutinta sleeping on the bed completely naked. She yelled on top of her voice and rushed out of the room. Hansoka came and held her tight and said “What is the matter sweetie” she was trembling heavily as she cried out ‘I think Mutinta has been murdered’ Hansoka loosened the grip and exclaimed ‘murdered! Are you sure?’ “Yes she is lying there naked and she has blood on her legs.” Hansoka said ‘Take it easy my dear, you go back there and cover her then I will come and check what has happened’

Natasha gained courage and went into the bedroom and covered Mutinta with the blanket up to the neck. Hansoka then went inside followed by Natasha. When he reached the bed side, he touched her neck and immediately said ‘she is breathing, bring some cold water. As Natasha went to collect the water, Hansoka removed the leaf from where he had placed it. When Natasha brought the water, they poured it on her heard and she sprung up immediately.

She saw her father and step mother standing beside her. She immediately said “Dad what is the matter, when did you come back?’

She felt that under the blanket she was not wearing anything and she immediately felt pain on her private parts. She started crying as her father walked out saying he was going to the police station while her step mother said “We don’t know what happened, we have just come back. Do you remember anything? “I don’t know I slept very early because I was scared” Mutinta said in between sobs.

The police arrived a few minutes later and immediately started their investigations. The said the door was not forced so the rapist must have used a key. Natasha quickly answered ‘No one we only have one key, the one that remained here. Then they also said that the rapist was not a thief because if he was he would have taken some of the nice things that were in the house.

They asked Mutinta if she had any suspects but she exclaimed” No! Why? “

The police then left and said they will inform the family when they come across any suspect.

Mutinta refused to accept that she had lost her virginity just like that; she vowed to find the rapist herself even if it meant 20 years later.

For once Mutinta never left the house and grew thinner and thinner. Her father and Natasha failed to convince her to forget about it and move on.

When it became very serious after she fainted and was admitted in hospital for one week Natasha brought in a Pastor from her church to come and pray for her.

At first Mutinta refused to talk to the Pastor, but Pastor Elias insisted and forced himself into Mutinta’s room. She covered herself with the blanket completely as the pastor said ‘Let’s pray, Father we commit this session in your hands as we talk to our beloved daughter who is going through tribulations and trying moments.
As the Pastor continued with the prayer, Mutinta uncovered herself. She was gripped by the power of the prayer.

The Pastor who was further encouraged by the reaction of Mutinta shouted. “God, like you said yourself, the ones you love you will always try them to see if the faith is still intact. We ask this through your son Jesus Amen”

The Pastor then went and sat next to Mutinta and said to her “Child of God, what happened to you is not your fault, you could not control it, and so God will punish the offender and not you. Secondly the attack was on your body and not your spirit; we all take repeated abuse all the time, stumped toes, slammed fingers, even assault.


************

The following month the grade twelve results were out and Mutinta passed with three distinctions and three merits. She was the only one accepted at University of Zambia to study Law.

Her father said “My daughter I am proud of your achievement. I know you will grow to become a very big and famous person. You should not apply for a bursary, I will pay for your fees through out.”

There was jubilation in the house and a party was held to celebrate Mutinta’s achievements.

On Sunday, Mr Hansoka drove Muntinta to UNZA to commence her four year degree course in Law.

Mr Hansoka left after Mutinta was allocated room 30 in October Block one which was located just near the administration block. She was to share the room with a pretty girl called Mweemba, a fellow Tonga from Choma. They quickly became very good pals. That same day, Mweemba took Mutinta for a movie at Arcades Shopping Complex. Mutinta was surprised and excited to see the beauty of Arcades. Mazabuka had relatively good shops but Arcades was on a different level. They went to the cinema and Mweemba bought two tickets for K20 pin each.

Mweemba chose a film about Forensic Investigation and it was acted by Cynthia Rodrock. She was investigating a rape case that happened twenty years ago. Mutinta was very attentive and thoughtful during the movie. It brought back the memories of her rape trauma but she did not want to think much about it. After the movie Mweemba who noticed the thoughtfulness of Mutinta asked “You are too quite. What is the matter?” Mutinta answered “I have been inspired by this movie. I think I will join the police service when I finish my Law degree . That day signified the beginning of a career path for Mutinta.








CHAPTER 5



Mr. Hansoka arrived in Chikankata to deliver the blood to his traditional healer. Again he was received by the same humble and respectful young girl who told him that the traditional healer was in the fields. She promised to send someone to fetch him.

Mr. Hansoka was given a stool and he sat under a mango tree.

“Welcome my man” the traditional healer said as he put down that hoe and a log that he had come with from the fields. “Am very fine” answered Mr. Hansoka as they shook hands strongly. Mr. Hansoka could not wait to discuss the reason for his trip so he quickly said “Am ready with our agreement Doc”.

Samboka then quickly said “ooh, that’s good news, come with me”. Mr. Hansoka followed Samboka to the hut where he usually performed his rituals, when they got there Samboka took his usual attire, the leopard skin and put it on. During this process, Mr. Hansoka stood still in the corner of the hut with the bottle containing blood in the palms of his right hand.

After Samboka was fully dressed in his work suit he sat on the chair made of leopard skin. He then spoke in a deep and authoritative voice saying “move closer to here” Mr. Samboka took a dish containing all sorts of herbs and placed it right after his feet and told Hansoka to put the bottle containing blood into the dish.

Mr. Hansoka again did as he was told. Then Samboka began his sermon of praises for the gods and ancestors for giving healing powers.

Mr. Hansoka who remained kneeling down watched and listened to the sermon for close to twenty minutes, then Samboka finally picked the bottle, opened and dipped his smallest finger into the bottle and sucked the blood, Mr. Hansoka looked in total disbelief at what he had just seen.

After that Samboka stood up and said “Yes this is the correct blood, from a virgin” he asked Hansoka to sit down as he started saying “My dear, this is just the first step towards your healing process, but before I can begin the process, I need to tell you that my charge for this is K10million, the dosage is one teaspoon per day for five years, no sex with anyone unless someone who is also taking this medicine as well.

Mr. Hansoka stood motionless for close to two minutes without uttering a word. Then he finally said “But doc. why 5 years. Samboka said “You know my dear to kill the virus takes a long time, that is why scientist have failed to find the cure, but this only goes to show that African medicne is bigger than laboratory science. I am still working on shortening the period but for now I am sorry five years will stand”.

Mr. Hansoka then said “But the other thing doctor, how am I going to survive without sex for five years.” The doctor answered “I said you sleep with your wife if she starts the course too, which means you will have to convince her to start otherwise you will stay 5 yeas without sex. I won’t ask for more money being a friend but usually I charge K10million per head meaning I would have asked you to pay K20million for both of you”.

Samboka then stood up and said “That’s all, you can come with the money after one week to come and pick up the medicine”.

Mr. Hansoka said goodbye in a very sullen state as he walked to his vehicle. One thing was clear to him, he had to sell one of his vehicles to raise money for the charges but what bothered him most was how to explain to his wife where the money was going after selling the vehicle.

Mr. Hansoka got home around 6pm and was received by his ever joyous wife, she noticed that he was not in his usual mood so she asked “what is the matter my husband, you looked dazed” Mr. Hansoka managed to put up a very weak smile and said “I am just tired my baby, get me some cold water to drink” he went to the sitting room and threw himself on the sofa.

When the glass of water came he gulped it down once.

He then called his wife and asked her to sit next to him. He touched on the shoulder and said “sweetheart, I want to buy a car but, I need to sell one of the two vehicles we have and top up to buy you a small but beautiful car. You have been an excellent wife and you managed to improve my life. I will sell the vannettee and keep the light truck. I already have some one who is interested in the vehicle, we have agreed K12million.

Natasha turned to protest by saying it was not necessary, but Mr. Hansoka insisted that he wanted her to feel special and most important; he wanted her to know that he really loved her.

The following day Mr. Hansoka brought a buyer to the house and he paid the K12million cash for the vehicle and Mr. Hansoka took the entire K12million and gave it to his wife and said “Keep if safely, I will ask for it when I have found the correct car”.

Natasha took the money and concealed it in a secluded place in their bedroom. Before that she complained about the security but Hansoka assured her that the following day it would be taken to the Bank.

In the evening as they rested in the living room after super, Mr. Hansoka started a story about traditional healers by asking his wife a straight question “Sweetie, do you believe in traditional medicine?” Natasha looked at her husband with a strange face and said “of course not, I thought by now you know that I do not believe in such rubbish”.

Mr. Hansoka tried to advance his argument by saying “We are Africans and traditional medicines were there before the arrival of whites on the continent, so I am sure you should trust and believe that us as Africans must be able to sort out some of the complications that we are faced with”.

Natasha responded saying “Yes while that may be true to a larger extent, I feel that modern medicines are more scientific than traditional medicines, for example dosage, traditionalists will give you a twenty liters container and they tell you to finish it within two days, but if you go to the hospital, they will only give you a few tablets.”

Mr. Hansoka wanted to advance the argument so he said “yes darling I agree with you only up to a certain extent, but do you know that they use human remains especially the brain to make most of the tablets? And for me my dear, I have always gotten cured with any disease by the traditional healers for the past twenty years”

That day they slept without concluding the argument, everyone stood by their stand point.

The following day Mr. Hansoka took the money and went and deposited it into his account at Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO) located opposite Pep Stores along the Livingstone – Lusaka road.

When the day Hansoka was supposed to go back to Samboka, he woke up early and told his wife that he was going to Lusaka to check on a vehicle he wanted to buy for her. She was excited and prepared the food and the bathing water quickly.

After about 10am Hansoka was ready to go, he said goodbye to his wife and that he would be back by sunset. He drove to the Bank and withdrew K11million, part of it for his fuel and K10million for the charges by Samboka.

From the Bank, he drove quickly and reached Samboka’s place by 11am and this time, he found him waiting for him.

They exchanged greetings and quickly got to business. After Samboka finished his dressing procedures, he asked Hansoka who was seated “do you have the money?’ Hansoka responded in a low voice in the affirmative. Samboka then commanded Hansoka to put the money into the dish. As usual Samboka performed a sermon to praise the spirits and ancestors for having given him healing powers.

As he was busy with his sermon, Samboka took the K10milion and put it into his pockets, he took a 5 liters of the medicines and gave it to Hansoka. “As I told you, the dosage for this medicine is one teaspoon daily for five years. If you have sex with someone who is not taking this medicine, you have to start the course all over again”.

Hansoka got the container and said “But doc, there is a problem, I have tried to convince my wife to accept traditional medicine but she is very adamant and as you know, I am a Tonga bull, so I cant live without sex for five years, and even if I manage to do that, after five years I will get cured but immediately I will sleep with my wife I will get sick again.”

Samboka first laughed as usual then he said “ I can help you to convince her that traditional medicine is more effective than modern medicine, the only problem is that she is pregnant, it will mean her losing the baby, by the way how old is the pregnancy?”

Mr. Hansoka stood motionless in a pensive mood but he finally said “Doc, what is important for me now is my health; it won’t make sense that I have a baby who I can’t support, besides when my wife and I get cured, we can always make another child.”

Samboka looked at Hansoka straight into the eyes and asked, “Are you certain about this decision. Hansoka said “yes” without thinking about it. Samboka then took a small bottle containing a colorless liquid and gave it to Hansoka and said “You leave the medicine here first and when you get home, you should be in a very jovial mood for some reason and you should make some coffee for your wife after super. Put some of this liquid into her coffee and by tomorrow the pregnancy will be gone .She will then develop a complication that can only be reversed by me”.

When Hansoka got home around 6pm, he was in high spirits, he told his wife that he managed to find a very nice car for her and the following day he would go and pay for it.

After supper as they sat watching TV Hansoka offered to make coffee for his wife but she refused saying she was very full. Hansoka pleaded with her saying “Just a sip to celebrate the purchase of the car. I have already organized someone to start giving you driving lessons.” They sipped their coffee as they discussed many things happily. Around 9pm they retired to bed, not so long after that they both fell asleep.

Mr. Hansoka was awaken by the screaming voice, Natasha was up and standing and holding the lower part of her belly. She was perspiring heavily, he sprung from the bed at high velocity and held her close to him and whispered into her ears “What is the matter baby”

She struggled to say something but finally she screamed out “It’s my stomach, it is paining badly.” It’s burning and constricting”

She screamed again but this time very loud and afterwards she fainted. Mr. Hansoka started panicking, he looked at the watch, it was 1am, he thought about going to pick the car from the car park but on the second thought, he decided that it would be a waste of time, Mazabuka hospital was not far so he lifted his wife across his arms and romped out of the house, he started running towards Mazabuka hospital which lay across the road.

He had to take her to the hospital and this meant that for the first time in about 30 years, he was going to enter the hospital. He did not mind because it was just a get way to what he wanted. He reached the reception of the hospital and everyone was astonished at what they were seeing.

When no one was moving faster to help Hansoka shouted on top of his voice.” Help” one nurse managed to move fast and said “What is the matter” Hansoka trembling said “she just fainted” The nurse led Hansoka to a room where there was a bed and told him to lay Natasha on the bed. After that Hansoka noticed that she had blood all over her legs.
“He murmured to himself saying “Yes, it has happened just like Samboka said”. He clenched his fist but held back a smile.

“Natasha woke up two hours later and discovered that she was in hospital. She asked the nurse who was standing on her bed side “what am I doing here?” The nurse went close and whispered to Natasha “please don’t move, you are not very well, you have just lost your baby.” Natasha screamed on top of her voice “ooh no! The nurse however, managed to cool her down but she continued sobbing quietly.

When Hansoka came into the room, she even sobbed more saying “I have lost my baby” Mr. Hansoka went very close to his wife and consoled her “Baby ,this is no time to cry hard, I don’t want you to get sick, let us see that your health is sustained after this.”

The nurse then called Hansoka to the private office and informed him that his wife developed a complication because the bleeding was not stopping. She explained that the Doctors were still trying to stop it but if by the following day it failed, they would have no option but to refer her to University Teaching Hospital.

After that Mr. Hansoka went and stayed at his wife’s bedside for close to two hours. He later left for the house to go and catch a bath and eat something. He went back to the hospital around 6pm but before he could see his wife, he went to the nurse to consult on the progress.

The nurse informed him that the doctor had decided to refer her to the University Teaching Hospital but she would only be transferred the following day. He was advised to organize money for fuel for the ambulance. Mr. Hansoka responded boastfully “Money is not a problem mum, how much is required” The nurse said “I don’t know but the last time we did this, the patient paid K800pin.

Mr. Hansoka dipped his fingers in his pocket and proceeded bundle of money and gave it to the nurse and said “This is K1million; you can use the balance for other things”. The nurse thanked Mr. Hansoka and they parted company. Mr. Hansoka went to the wife who was seated on the bed looking stronger than before”.

They arrived at University Teaching Hospital at 10am and they were taken to a room on the second floor, shortly after they were joined by an Indian Doctor who was introduced as Dr. Fein. Mr. Hansoka was asked to wait outside while the tests were being carried out. It took two hours and after that Dr. Fein opened the door and motioned to Mr. Hansoka to enter. When he got there the nurse said “We have failed to detect any abdominal complication in your wife and we still can not stop the bleeding from the uterus. We will just give you some tablets but you will need to come every week for us to check if there is something else we can do.

For the following six months Natasha shuttled between Mazabuka and University Teaching Hospital with the hope that one day her bleeding would stop, but to no avail, she finally started loosing confidence in the hospital. She was also scared to lose her marriage although her husband was always supportive to her.

After supper that night, Mr. Hansoka said “My dear, I know you have this problem of continuous periods, but you also need to be cleansed after the miscarriage; I think it is time you made up with your aunt and ask her to find you medicine”.

Natasha turned and looked at her husband and said “I don’t know if my aunt would be willing to talk to me and as for the cleansing you know that I don’t believe in that”.

Hansoka quickly interjected and said “don’t be naive my dear, in the Zambian culture a man cannot have sex with a woman that has just lost a baby through miscarriage, and because I believe in that very strongly, I am sorry I will not have sex with you until you are cleansed”. I am sure even your bleeding problems can be ended easily. Natasha thought for a while. She was touched by the sentiments. She added one and two and then said “We can try and go to see aunt tomorrow”.

The following day they left for Lusaka to go and see Natasha’s Aunt. They reached Chipata compound around 10am and found the aunt outside washing clothes, immediately the aunt saw Natasha she walked to her and hugged her and said “my niece, I have been worried about you since you left, where have you been”

Natasha replied faintly “it is a long story aunt; greet my husband Mr. Jack Hansoka.” They entered the house and Natasha, after settling down said “Aunt I came to say sorry for what happened that time, I was young and naïve and I did not know the value of the family. Now I am a woman like you, married to a very wonderful man who has taught me the value of the family and who has transformed me into an effective woman of the house”.

When Hansoka realized that the talk was drifting into a woman to woman, he excused himself and said “let me leave you to do the woman talk, I will come back to pick you around 3pm”. Natasha and her aunt escorted Hansoka to the vehicle and after that he drove away.

Her aunt listened attentively, Natasha asked for forgiveness with tears almost rolling down her cheeks.
She struggled to pull herself together and eventually managed to tell her aunt what happened to her after she left them in Chipata compound disappointingly those years back .But of course leaving out the affair with her uncle. She then asked “Aunt where is uncle?”

“Your uncle, it’s a long story, after that day you left, your uncle did not come for one week, but I called him and he came here, we reconciled and he started coming home regularly. Then one night he came and said he had problems with his wife so he would stay here for a week or so. We stayed very well until my usual trip came through. It was a Saturday, so I left around the usual 4pm.

When I came back around 8am on Monday morning I found the house deserted, then one of the neighbors came and told me that your, uncle was arrested by police the previous day. I did not rest so I started looking for him in the Police Stations starting with Emmasdale, I finally found him at Central Police Station.

He was looking harassed and very bad, so I asked him what the problem was, he could not speak. Then one Police woman who was listening to my line of questioning came closer and said “Mummy this foolish man raped his own daughter, a 3 year old child.
Natasha flinched with fear and she exclaimed “No!! Ooh! Dear God.”

Auntie noticed this but continued.

“My niece I did not stay, I run away back to the house. I only learnt later that he was jailed for 15 years. You see my niece what these men can do. I trusted that man not thinking that he could be a defiler what if I had a small daughter; I would kill him if he defiled my daughter. But my niece that is the past, he will rot in jail for the next 15 years.”

Natasha felt like something was clipping through her spine .She hail the man who had defiled her .Let him rot in jail.

She then said “aunt I need help, I am told that I need medicine after a miscarriage if I am to sleep with my husband, and I am also bleeding continuously since I lost my baby”.

Aunt said “Do not worry my dear for the first problem, I will give you the medicine and for the second problem I will take you to someone I know but you have to stay with me for one week while we work on you. When your husband comes, you should ask for permission to remain here.

After one week, Mr. Hansoka went back to Chipata compound to pick his wife. She was excited that she had made peace with her only relative. They even traveled together to Mazabuka so that Aunt could know where her niece lived.

Natasha was given the traditional medicine by a traditional healer from Katuba where her Aunt had taken her. She was told to take the medicine for 5 days then the problem would disappear.

After 5 days the problem did not go so Natasha was very disappointed. Mr. Hansoka then suggested that they go and see his traditional healer in Chikankata.

“These traditional healers are the same” complained Natasha.

However, after a protracted discussion, Natasha agreed to try Samboka.

The following day around 10am they arrived at Samboka’s palace. Hansoka introduced his wife to Samboka and immediately they entered the hut where Samboka performed his spiritual healing. Hansoka then explained the problems that his wife was facing. Samboka like usual laughed and said “That’s a simple problem to me but the instruction are very strict and must be followed carefully. This problem can not be cured by anyone in this country except me. But the dosage is one tea spoon per day for a period of 5 years, your partner or husband should also take the dosage for the same period. If you have sex with someone who is not taking the medicine the problem will come back. The charge is K10million per person but since you are my close client, you will pay K10million for both of you.

I will give you the medicine; you can bring the money tomorrow. Mr. Samboka then took the same 5 liters container he had wanted to give to Hansoka and handed it to the wife. Samboka directed his instruction to Natasha saying “Make sure he also takes the medicine every day otherwise you won’t be cured”.

Mr. and Mrs. Hansoka left Chikankata around 4pm and drove faster reaching Mazabuka before 5pm. Mr. Hansoka decided to make some coffee for the two of them, He then put the containers of the second small bottle he was given by Samboka on the table .After the coffee they had supper thereafter they took their first dosage of the medicine.

The following morning Natasha was excited to discover that her bleeding had completely stopped, she woke up her husband and said “Darling, I can’t believe this but my problem is gone.”

Haisoka simply said “You should have believed me, I knew what I was saying but you must not miss the dosage.”

That night they had sex through out the night and Natasha was exited and asked if her husband had paid Samboka but Hansoka said “Not yet my dear, I was waiting to ask if we can use the money for your car”.

Natasha looked at her husband and said “please go ahead and pay tomorrow because my health is more important than the car, we can buy the car later.”

The following day Hansoka traveled to Chikankata just to fulfill the plan.
































CHAPTER 6



Mr. Hansoka cell phone rung as he approached the house, he pulled it from his pocket and answered it without checking who was calling. “Hallow” the voice on the other side said “hallow Dad”.

“Mutinta my daughter,” exclaimed Hansoka “how are you” he said quickly “I am fine dad, I don’t have enough units but I just called to tell you that on Saturday I will be graduating, you should come with mother to come and witness my graduation”.

Mr. Hansoka said “Yes of course, we will be there my dear, what time and where?
Mutinta responded “At UNZA Starting at 10am but you must be here earlier”.

When Mr. Hansoka reached home he informed his wife about the impending trip and she was excited “Is it four years already, time flies so fast.”

Mr. Hansoka ‘Time flies so fast, I cant imagine that I met you 4 years ago and now you are a big woman handling big problems.”

On Saturday Natasha woke up very early to prepare for the trip to Mutinta’s graduation, she could not avoid thinking that if her parents did not die in that fateful accident at Kapiri Ngozi, she would have managed to go to the University and perhaps she would have been graduating together with Mutinta.

At exactly 6am they were ready to depart, they both wore their best clothes and they looked perfectly nice together. Mr. Hansoka wore a navy blue suit with a snow white shirt and a yellow neck tie. The shoes were black and they were shinning like a mirror. Natasha wore a Chitenge outfit which fitted her like she was born with it. She wore matching high heeled shoes. Her hair was plaited nicely and she really looked like she was the one who was graduating.

Mr. Hansoka drove quickly and they reached Lusaka just before 8am and drove straight to the University of Zambia campus.


The graduation was nice and Mutinta looked stunning in her graduation gown. After the graduation, Mutinta said she would remain on campus until the following Wednesday because she had to clear a few things. Mr. Hansoka left her daughter with K1 million for her upkeep and transport back home in Mazabuka.

********

On Monday Mutinta decided to go into town to see Mweemba who now worked for the National Bank of Zambia as trainee Manager. They had become inseparable for the two years that they had shared the room on campus.

She got there around 10:30 am and was cordially received by her friends who offered her a seat and gave her a post newspaper to read while Mweemba went into another office.

As she read through she noticed a job advertisement from the Zambia Police Service looking for graduates to be employed as officers in the Forensic department. She immediate realized her dream to join the police service and the department was her preference. She quickly read through the advert carefully noticed that the closing day was that same day.

Mutinta walked out of the office without saying bye to her friend. She had to beat the dead line. She rushed to UNZA to pick her papers and then connected to Force headquarters where the interviews were being held. The arrangement was that you were interviewed immediately you presented your papers and you would be informed on whether you were successful or not.

She presented her papers to the plain clothed officer who asked her to wait for the interview. After thirty minutes, she was motioned into the Boardroom where she found ten high ranking police officers waiting for her.

She was taken through the interview and afterwards she was told to wait at the reception. After twenty minutes or so a man walked to her and said “Madam you have been successful, came and pick your acceptance letter tomorrow .We will expect you to be at Lilayi Police College by Friday for a one month course in military training and Criminology.”

She left a happy person and called her dad to break the news. However the father did not approve of her daughter becoming a police woman but Mutinta insisted until the father had no option but to jut accept his daughter’s choice of work.

After picking her acceptance letter the following day, Mutinta went and explained to Mweemba what had transpired that day and she even showed her the acceptance letter.

Mweemba simply said “God answers prayers, I am jut imagining how you have always wanted to be a police officer, especially that you wont be uniformed and the forensic department I am told is the elite department of the police service with very good conditions of service and very good take home pays.”

Mutinta just smiled and said “Thank you Mwana. I must leave now, I am expected to report at Lilayi police training college tomorrow afternoon. But today I am leaving for Mazabuka to go and leave the books and all the school things.”


***********

Mutinta arrived at Lilayi Police Training College at exactly 4pm and was directed to the students affairs office where she was taken through the registration process. While there she was also told that their training was less of Physical but more of class work. Their main subject was criminal investigating with concentration on forensic investigation.

The training was interesting for Mutinta because she enjoyed every part of it and she was looking forward to starting her full time work.

After the training Mutinta was the best student in a class of fifteen and she was given a medal. They were told to report for work at force Headquarters after two days.

Mutinta arrived at Force headquarters on Monday at 8am sharp to begin her Job. She was told to report to the overall boss in that department. She found herself sited before a huge man with a massive face and a big mustache. He wore very thick glasses and was clad in plain clothes. When he spoke to greet Mutinta, his voice was huge as he said “Good morning my dear, what can I do for you?” Mutinta said” I have come to start work and I was directed to this office”. The man stood up and said “As what, we don’t have such beautiful ladies for police officers.”

Mutinta produced her appointment letter and gave it to the man. The man looked at the letter and said “hoo! Welcome my dear, my name is Chalwe; I am in charge of the forensic department. I will call someone to show you your office.”

He opened his drawers and took out a pamphlet and gave it to Mutinta saying “All the duties and procedures are in this pamphlet.




**********

For six months there were no major duties for Mutinta except that everyday, she was learning new things about her job.

Then one day she got to the office around 9am and she got word that Mr. Chalwe was looking for her, she just put her handbag on her desk and rushed to Mr. Chalwe’s office.

“Sorry Sir I am late” She said immediately she got inside Mr. Chalwe’s office.
“It’s alright my dear, sit down” Responded Mr. Chalwe.

Mutinta by then had known that Mr. Chalwe had a soft spot for her and the other officers from the department had also started noticing and they used to complain.

Mr. Chalwe then took a folder from his desk drawers and said “My dear, I must say that I have been impressed with your performance since you joined this department, you are far much better than any one here. I have therefore decided to nominate you for a two months course on forensic investigation to be held in Johannesburg South Africa starting next week.
Mutinta could not believe what she was hearing.” But she simply said “I am grateful I will definitely not disappoint you.

Mr. Chalwe took the folder and gave it to Mutinta and said “fill out the forms in that folder so that we can send them back to the organizers, and also fill out the authority to travel forms so that we can send them to cabinet office for approval. (Authority to travel is a document that all civil servants who are required to undertake business abroad are required to fill and submit to Cabinet Office for approval.) Please do this by the end of the day today.”

As she was walking back to the office with a big smile, she realized that one thing would be a problem “passport” she took out her cell phone and called her friend Mweemba who was always highly connected “Mwana I have been nominated to attend a course in South Africa but I have no passport.” Mweemba responded “please come immediately before the end of the day you will have your passport, you know me.”

Mutinta just dropped the file, picked up the handbag and told the office mates that she was going out and would be back in the office in an hour’s time. She took a taxi from the bus stop of Ministry of Finance and National Planning and told the driver “Take me to National Bank of Zambia please.”

When she got to the Bank and rushed to Mweemba’s office on the second floor after getting cleared by the security. With Mweemba’s help Mutinta filled in all the necessary forms and she paid the requisite fees. She was told to pick up the passport that same day at 4pm.





************

Mutinta was seen off at Lusaka international Airport by her father, her stepmother and her best friend Mweemba. She flew out aboard South African Airways. She arrived at Johannesburg International Airport and was received by the course organizers. She was driven to Holiday inn where all the participants were booked.

After the booking procedures Mutinta was shown her room. It was room 10 on the first floor. She took a bath and then lay on the bed enjoying the comfort of the room while watching TV. She peeped through the window and saw cars moving at very high speed, she wondered why Zambia was so under developed. She even imagined what Britain and America looked like if South Africa was that beautiful.

She looked at her watch, the time was 6pm and she remembered that she was told supper would be served around that time. The restaurant was located on the basement but she was scared of the lift. She took the stairs and when she got to the reception she asked the receptionist where the restaurant was. The receptionist said “That way, follow the hallway, where it ends you should turn right and then left.”

A number of people were already there but surprisingly they all sat one on every table which could accommodate up to six people. It was a buffet meal so after picking her food she went and sat alone in a corner and enjoyed her meal. Thereafter, she went back to her room and slept. .

The course was being conducted at the South Africa Public Academy which was 30Km away from the hotel; they were picked every morning and dropped back around 6pm. The participants were drawn from, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Congo, Zimbabwe and South Africa itself.

Mutinta found the course to be very interesting and educative. They were taught on how to use modern equipment to investigate criminal cases such as murder, theft and rape even if it happened years back. This interested Mutinta most because she wished that one day she would catch the person who raped her.

As a result of this Mutinta paid a lot of attention during all the lectures and she contributed the most during debates and open discussions.


**********
For one month Mutinta’s schedule was hotel room, restaurant and college. She was too scared to go out and see what Johannesburg was made of. Her classmates or fellow participants were too scared to talk to her because she always looked so serious with the course.

This day after they were dropped from college, she, ascended to her room using stairs as usual. When she got to there, she opened the curtain on the window and peeped through sub-consciously for the very first time, she was scooped to notice that right opposite the hotel, there was a restaurant. She looked closely and saw a sign written KFC in big letters. She said to her self “At least there I can go, I am tired of eating the same food day in day out. Maybe I can get something different”

She dumped the books on the bed locked the door. She went to the mirror and checked herself. She was surprised that she was looking like a village woman with no education at all. She them realize she had not paid attention to her appearance since she landed in South Africa. She complained loudly to her “I have been too engrossed in this course that I have neglected my looks.”

She went to the wardrobe and selected a skimpy floral dress that fitted her very nicely dropping slightly above her kneels exposing her nicely built legs. She selected nice sleepers the matched with one of the colors of the dress. She applied make up on her face and wore a wig that made her look like South African.

She picked her hand bag and walked majestically down the stairs. When she got to the reception, she gave the key to the receptionist as a requirement by the hotel when a resident is going out. As she turned to go she heard a voice saying.
“Excuse me madam” She turned and said “Yes, what is it?” “Where is the owner of the room? “The receptionist asked. Mutinta laughed and then responded” I am the owner of the room” The receptionist agued even further “I mean the other lady in this room” lifting the key.

Mutinta who was almost getting upset cooled herself down and removed the wig and asked the receptionist cunningly “Who else is in that room apart from me?” The receptionist flinched and quickly apologized “I am sorry madam but I hope you will realize that it is my job to protect the residents. Mutinta simply said “It’s ok “.She rushed into the toilets adjacent to the reception and she tidied herself up.

She crossed the road and stood just before the restaurant, she noticed that the KFC she was seeing meant Kentucky Fried Chicken. She looked at the menu and most of them were called Combo, lunch box or dinner box.

She went closer and ordered one dinner box and paid for it. Afterwards she went and sat on a chair in the corner of the restaurant. After some five minutes she was called to get her food.

On the next table sat a smartly dressed man who seemed to be enjoying his meal. He wore a nicely fitting Chitenge shirt with a black trousers and shiny black shoes. Although he was sited .Mutinta could see that he was nicely built with wide shoulders and he was medium size in statue. Mutinta could feel the man looking at her each time she looked away from him.He was becoming unease but she told herself not to worry.

She remembered that she had not spoken with her father for a while now, so she decided to call him before she could start eating. She pulled out her phone and dialed her father’s number, the father answered and they started discussing in Tonga.

Mutinta told her father that she was scared of moving in town because her friend had warned her that Johansburg was rough. She informed him that it was her first day eating outside the hotel restaurant because she had wanted to eat something different.

After discussing for 10 minutes, Mutinta told her father to pass her Natasha and hang up. Before she could even touch her food, the man who sat next to her stood up from his chair and went and sat right opposite her and spoke to her in Tonga.
“O muchizi wangu, ni ndakubona biyo, kaboola awa, ndaiiba kuti muntu wandeene
(“My sister, when I just saw you come here I had a feeling that there was something special about you). When you spoke in Tonga it confirmed my suspicion. You are special because you are Zambian and Tonga. There are no such beautiful and humble women here in South Africa. The world is small, I did not imagine that I could find relative here.”

Mutinta was startled, she smiled widely and responded in Tonga “Who are you, you almost scared me the way you were looking at me, I thought it was one of the dangerous men that I have heard about. “The man laughed loudly and then said “My name is Peter Moono ,I am a Tonga from Monze,” What are you doing here” asked Mutinta .Peter Responded “I am at a theological college training as a Pastor, I will be graduating in a month from now and then I will go back to Zambia to Pastor at my church.” They shook hands and Mutinta was happy that she had found a fellow Zambian and most importantly a Tonga and a Christian.

Mutinta then introduced herself to Peter and included the fact that she was a police woman who had gone to do a course at South African Police College.

Peter looked at her and said “You must be kidding my dear; you look more like a Bank Manager than a Police woman. Mutinta went on to say that she was staying at Holiday Inn just across the road while Peter said that he lived on campus which was 10 km away from where they were.

They exchanged phone numbers and Peter who had lived in South Africa for four years offered to show Mutinta the beauty of Johannesburg over the weekend.

Mutinta felt like she was back home and that night she slept very well.

The following day was Friday and on Saturdays and Sundays they had no lectures. After they were dropped Mutinta called Peter just to say hi. “Hallow Peter, this is Mutinta I just called to say hi and check on how you are doing.”

Peter responded affectionately saying “Hi Mutinta I was gonna call you at 6 pm, I did not want to disturb your lecture.” Mutinta interrupted by saying “We finished early today and I am already at the Hotel.”

“Did you say over the weekend you are free?” Asked Peter. Mutinta agreed. Peter then stayed quite for sometime, then said “I know we don’t know each other that much but I was trying to suggest something.”

“What is it” responded Mutinta.

“I wanted to invite you to come with me, I will be flying out to Durban tomorrow for a weekend, it is a nicer place than here, it is quite, the people are friendlier and there is the beach for you to relax.”

Mutinta failed to resist and said ‘Yes’ without wasting time.” She had also heard about the beauty of Durban.

“I will pick you at 8am, we will catch a 10 am flight, and everything will be on me.” Peter said as he hung up.
Peter drove to Holiday Inn and parked his car, a Toyota Mark II 2.4, black in color, leather interior and a powerful music system. He got to the reception and asked for Mutinta’s room. He knocked on the door and he could hear a voice from some distance saying. “Hang on for just a minute!” Mutinta opened the door with just the towel wrapped around her body. She ushered Peter in and immediately offered Peter an excuse “I am just dressing up, give me five minutes.” Peter who did not look like in a hurry responded “It’s fine my dear, take your time, don’t rush.”

They arrived at the Airport at exactly 9am and they bought tickets for the 10am flight. They checked in 30 minutes before departure and went and sat in the departure lounge. The plane touched down at Durban Airport at 12am and they booked a taxi to 4 seasons Hotel located a few yards from the beach.

When they got to the Hotel Peter asked for a family room. They were allocated one on the second floor; it had a sitting room, a dining room and two self contained rooms.

At 2pm they were ready to go out and see the beauty of Durban.

Peter said “Here we will not require a taxi because the beach is just a few meters away. From 4 seasons Hotel they crossed the road and came to Holiday Inn and after they crossed the next road they were already at the beach. It was a marvel to see. Mutinta did not hide her excitement about what she saw.

She saw a lot of people enjoying themselves. They went and sat on the sand watched people skiing and swimming on the ocean. Peter turned to Mutinta and said “This is the Atlantic ocean you have been reading about. The ships that you are seeing come from as far as Europe to bring all sorts of merchandises including the cars that Zambians come to buy. They brought drinks and food from the nearby restaurant.

At 6pm they decided to go back to the hotel. They had dinner from the hotel restaurant and they went to their room and started watching TV.

Then suddenly Mutinta asked Peter “Tell me about yourself, how you ended up choosing Pastoral work.”

Peter moved in his chair to sit properly, then he said “My dear it is a long and very sad story, but I will try to make it short and amusing. My mother was raped by a man when she was in grade eight at Mukinge girls and she later discovered that she had fallen pregnant. She was only fourteen and not ready for parenting so she developed complications before delivery and died immediately after giving birth to me.”
Tears formed in Mutant’s eyes as Peter narrated the story.

Peter noticed this but continued with the story.

“I was taken to an orphanage in Lusaka and later when I passed to go to grade eight, I went to Chikankata Secondary School. By that time I was leaving with my uncle who had come to pick me at the orphanage when I was seven. He lived in Monze with his wife .They did not have any children between them none of them had any child outside marriage.

They gave me everything I wanted such that I was not craving for anything. Most of my friends at school were dependent on me for survival. One day as I was in class, some one came and said “Peter you are wanted out side.” I stood up and went outside only to find my uncle’s car parked in front of our class. It was being driven by his Pheronowa with a driver who said “We have to go home your uncle is not well, he wants to talk to you.”
Mutinta looked sternly at him. She was hopping nothing bad had happened.

“We left in a hurry and reached our house by 6 pm. I was ushered in the bedroom where my uncle lay in a death bed. When I entered, he requested that he wanted to talk to me alone. He even asked me to lock the door. He was in a very bad state and since I liked him very much, I felt very bad. He looked frail and very weak His face was pale.

Then he started saying “My child I am not well but there is something I need to tell you before I go. Your mother started staying with me after your grand parents died, she was my sister’s daughter, I was a sufferer who was in a hurry to become rich so I approached someone to give me some medicine to get rich, I was told to sleep with a virgin and take the blood for the rituals, there was no virgin I knew apart from your mother. So I raped your mother but unfortunately she died during delivery. This means that I am your biological father.”
Mutinta almost jumped out from her skin with pain and hate.
“After that he died. I opened the door and left without telling anyone anything, that’s how I stopped school and found myself on the street in Lusaka, smocking dagga and glue. But there is one thing I did not do “sex”. I was and I am still a virgin.”

“The seventh day Adventist came and picked four of us from the street and took us to their transit home in garden compound. That was the beginning of my life changing story. I finished school, went to University and the Church sponsored me for the course I am doing now.”

So my dear, my greatest enemy in the whole world is “THE RAPIST”

Peter looked at Mutinta and noticed that tears were ebbing from her eyes and she had started sobbing slowly.

“What is the matter” asked Peter as he tried to soothe her.

Mutinta then explained her own story to Peter and it was Peter’s turn to drop tears and Mutinta to soothe him.

They retired to bed after midnight and the following day they saw more of Durban before they flew back to Johannesburg around 3pm.

***********

For the rest of their stay in South Africa, they saw each other every day and five days before returning to Zambia Peter confirmed to Mutinta that although it was too early, he had started feeling strangely about Mutinta .But Mutinta brushed it aside without giving him her opinion but deep down her heart she also knew that she had found Mr. Right.

After persistent questions from Peter, Mutinta said she needed more time to seriously think about it. What was extraordinary was the combination of the Pastor and a Police woman.

Six months after returning to Zambia they continued seeing each other regularly. Mutinta lived in Kabwata estates while Peter lived in Woodlands extension. Peter’s house was a lavish two bed roomed house with very expensive furniture. Over the weekends Mutinta would go there to wash and sweep for him. But they were still just friends. Mutinta was that strict that even kissing was out of bounds.

Then one day Peter insisted that they should discuss the possibility of becoming lovers. Mutinta was very hesitant but finally she agreed to talk. After a lengthy discussion that lasted for close to one hour, they agreed to try out a relationship. But Mutinta insisted that there would be no sex until they were married to which Peter agreed without any problem.

Mutinta took Peter to her parents in Mazabuka for introduction and in turn Peter took her to the Church Committee that looked after him over the years. He also took her to the Church where he was Pastoring in Chalala area near woodlands extension.

After six months they got married at a glamorous wedding ceremony held at Intercontinental Hotel. Mutinta moved to Woodlands to join her husband. She also moved to Peter’s church and they started congregating at the same church in Chalala area.

Mutinta received a lot of respect as the pastor’s wife and she really enjoyed it.

























CHAPTER 6



When Mutinta fell pregnant, her health just plummeted, she was in and out of hospital for weeks; Peter was very worried about his lovely wife’s health condition. He kept on wondering what it was that was troubling his wife. He prayed for her every morning and every night.

One day she decided to try another clinic and the Doctor she found there suggested that she takes an HIV test. Her reaction was quite bad, she rebuffed him saying “Do you really know me Doctor; I don’t take kindly to an insult like that”.

The Doctor looked at her and explained what he meant apologetically.

“Madam I am very sorry, I did not say that you are HIV positive, and besides if you know that you are negative, the test will just confirm it. But what I am saying is for me to treat you properly. I need to know your status.”

Mutinta romped out of the hospital; she went and told her husband what the Doctor had told her. To her surprise Peter calmly responded “I don’t see anything wrong with that sweetheart, the Doctor was merely trying to make his work easier and avoid speculations”

Mutinta looked at her husband strangely and said “How can you say that darling, what if I am told that I am HIV positive” Peter moved closer to his wife and assured her. “My dear, you will still be my lovely wife, nothing will change” “what about the church” asked Mutinta, Peter responded “Church is made up of people whether HIV positive or not, we can not edit the past, you could have gotten the virus the time you were raped, but for now we don’t know your status, so you should just go ahead and take the test, I will also take one after you”

The following day Mutinta went to the clinic and apologized to the Doctor for her beheviour the previous day. She asked the Doctor what she needed to do in order to get tested.

The Doctor then said “You will be required to be counseled for two weeks and after the test you will also be required to be counseled for another two weeks.
For the following couple of weeks Mutinta went through the pre test counseling to prepare her for the test. She knew most of the things that she was being taught through her HIV activities at Namwala Secondary School. However she felt strange whenever she thought about being declared positive.

After two weeks she was declared ready for the test but inside her heart, she was burning with fright.

She arrive in good time accompanied by her husband who was very supportive throughout the counseling process.

She was ushered in the testing room and Peter remained at the reception. She asked a few questions to test her preparedness for the test. She again declared ready for the test. The nurse came and took her blood and she was asked to wait for the results.

The results came 30 minutes later. “It is not the end of the world” the Doctor said as he handed Mutinta the test results.

As Mutinta sat there short of words, starring at the results hoping to see a fine print somewhere that read “this is a joke” or something like that. “If you take good care of yourself and eat proper diet with good exercises, you will remain health for up to twenty years or more” the Doctor added. “The most important thing for you is to start ART and then think and live positively” however for Mutinta the twenty years seemed like a verdict.

Mutinta came out filled in a form at the reception desk. She started shaking uncontrollably and Peter filled in the form for her. As they walked out of the door Mutinta looked at Peter and said “Its positive, my HIV test came back positive” Peter held Mutinta’s hand and squeezed it tightly. They proceeded straight to the car .Peter looked at Mutinta and said “Tell me what the Doctor said” “He said that I am HIV Positive” Mutinta replied. Peter hugged his wife and held her close to his chest. They sat there for a while without saying a single word to each other.

Mutinta finally told his husband to drive home.

At home Mutinta was feeling so empty inside and she did not know what to do. All she could think about was the unborn child. She started thinking about the twenty years and she realized that the child would only be at University or some college. She would still require her guidance.

Mutinta started having flashbacks on her life and one incidence tormented her, the mysterious rape case. She was convinced that the disease came from there.

Mutinta took three days crying, without eating, until she felt weak and could not do anything .With the constant counseling she used to receive from her husband she finally realized that she had someone special to talk to which was GOD. She prayed and read the bible regularly. She finally got courage and requested her husband to pray for her and after that they had a long meeting on how they would handle the future.

They agreed that Peter should also be tested and if he was positive they commence the ART. And they also agreed that Mutinta should immediately start prevention of mother to the child to protect the baby.

They also agreed to set up counseling and testing centers for raped victims in Mazabuka.








CHAPTER 7


It was five years since Mr. Hansoka and his wife started taking the medicine from Samboka. Natasha had not experienced any abnormal period since then.

She had started believing more in traditional medicine than the hospital. She constantly told her husband that he was right when he put it to her that traditional medicine was better.

However Hansoka’s health had been deteriorating for the past five years without knowing what was eating him up. Hansoka would regularly travel to Samboka and he would always be assured that the healing process was on course.

For Hansoka it was one thing or the other on his health, skin rashes, allergies, headache, diarrhea, malaria. As a result he was becoming smaller and smaller every day.

Five year exact, since they started taking the medicine, Mr. Hansoka told his wife that they needed to go back to Samboka because they were supposed to stop taking the medicine.

When they reached there Samboka told them that he would see them one by one starting with Natasha. When Natasha entered the hut Samboka just touched her on the forehead and shoulder and said “you are ok now my dear you can stop taking the medicine.”

When it was Hansoka’s turn, Samboka asked him to take off all his clothes just like he did last time. He was taken through the same process and this time around the manhood did not get an erection. Samboka just said “You see what I was telling you, you don’t have HIV now, it is gone completely.”

Hansoka stood up and just smiled widely. Natasha who had continued taking ARVs was enjoying good health for the past 5 years. She always urged her husband to take a leaf from her and start ARVs as well but Hansoka was adamant about it because he believed the medicine from Samboka would cure him.

Then one day Hansoka fell very ill such that he was bed ridden for five days. Natasha called Mutinta to come immediately. She arrived in Mazabuka with her husband at noon. They found the situation very bad and her father was not even speaking.

He was in no position to resist anything so they rushed him to Mazabuka general Hospital. Hansoka was immediately rushed to examination room where tests were done on him. Mutinta requested that they do the HIV test knowing that Natasha was positive.

After 30 minutes the doctor came out and said he was HIV positive and his CD4 count was only 105 was very bad, he also had other opportunistic infectious such as malaria.

It took five days to resuscitate Hansoka and through out this period Mutinta and her husband stayed in Mazabuka. They even used this time and opportunity to set up the organization they had planned. They called it PEMU Counseling Center (Peter and Mutinta). They rented a 4 bed roomed house in Nakambala Compound which they used as a drop on center.

Hansoka was annoyed when he realized that he was in hospital but he was surprised that his daughter was by his bedside.
“What am I doing here” he asked his daughter in a low but audible Tonga voice, Mutinta replied “Dad you were dead, the hospital has brought you back to life”

“NO take me home now” exclaimed Hansoka as he tried to stand up, the daughter went closer and pressed him down gently as she said. “No dad, you are still in a bad state, may be tomorrow you can leave.”

The following day, Hansoka was discharged from the hospital for home based care and Mutinta took it upon herself to counsel her father. They were only two of them when Mutinta started the process”
“Dad, you have been diagnosed with HIV the same virus that Natasha has, it is not the end of the world or as the usually say. It is not a death sentence.

I am also in the same situation, the person who raped me gave me the virus, so this makes many of us with the virus but if we stand together as one, we can overcome the stigma that is associated with this disease, Natasha, you, Peter my husband and myself.

In fact my husband and I are going public on this issue this coming Sunday at church and you know what it means with my husband being a Pastor. You must just do what the Doctors say and you are going to be fine, Look at Natasha, myself and my husband, we don’t look sick because we are taking the ARVs and closely following the Doctor’s advice.

Mutinta counseled her father continuously for two weeks and finally he agreed to start ARVs.

After two months Mr. Hansoka was back on his feet and looking very healthy with a big pot belly. He then decided to go back to Samboka to go and confront him on his alleged curing of HIV. He arrived at Samboka’s palace at exactly 10am and Samboka who looked very surprised at the way Hansoka was looking said.

“Welcome my dear, you are looking so healthy” “I want my money now” snapped Hansoka on top of his voice.

But Samboka said something that annoyed Hansoka even more.
“As long as I am concerned I healed you, that is why you are even looking like this. So can you get out of my palace or I will remove you physically.”


Hansoka moved closer to Samboka with hands flying all over and pointed his finger at Hansoka and lashed out “ You brat ,I now know that no one and I mean no one on earth can cure AIDS , You lied to me, I was dying until I was taken to the hospital where I was counseled and put on ARVs.

You made me sleep with my own daughter and she is HIV positive, my heart pains when I think about this. I am better dead because one day she will just discover that I am the rapist.” He was raging with anger as he spoke, his whole body trembling like a man who had just been attacked by a bout of malarial.

“I have no reason to continue living, my conscious is not clear” he snapped as he reached for his pocket and produced a pistol, “I have resolved to kill you before I kill myself”

Samboka after noticing the gun started shivering heavily, begging Hansoka not to kill. “I will give you back your money, I am very sorry for everything”

Hansoka whose temper had reached the apex pulled the trigger and shot Samboka right on his forehead and he fell to the ground. Mr. Hansoka got on his vehicle and drove back home.

He got home around 6pm and he was looking very harassed so Natasha asked “What is wrong with you today” He said “nothing” without elaborating.

Around 8pm there was a big knock on the door and Natasha opened the door. To her surprise two uniformed policemen stood in the door way.

“Is Mr. Hansoka here” asked one of the policemen, Natasha responded “Yes what’s the matter” “Just call him for us” commanded one of the police officer.

By this time Hansoka had joined them who just surrendered himself to the police officers. They took him to Mazabuka police station.

Natasha phoned Mutinta and told her what had happened. Mutinta rushed to Mazabuka with her husband but when they reached there they were told that, he was transferred to Lusaka Central Police Station.

They drove back to Lusaka but Mutinta asked Natasha to remain behind and look at the business and the house. They reached Lusaka central police station and found a big crowd of people out side. Mutinta asked one of the people what had happened he said “We want to see the Mazabuka man who has shot dead a traditional healer” answered a man rudely. Mutinta immediately knew it was her father but she wondered what led him to do that.

She meandered through the multitude of the on lookers inch by inch. It took her close to ten minutes to get to the gate but when she wanted to push the gate to enter she was stopped by the police officers manning the gate.

“Where are you going madam, cant you see that we are not allowing anyone to go in except police officers? She produced her Police Identity card and gave it to one of the officers. “I am sorry madam you can go ahead” Said the police officers as they saluted for her at the same time.

She went to room ten on the first where her father was being interrogated. As she entered the room she saw a policeman kicking her father on the head while shouting “Why did you kill him” the other policeman turned to Mutinta and said “You woman! What are you doing here, get out” Mutinta who was getting irritated by the same question reached for her bag. She took our Police identity card and threw it atone of the officer.

The police officer froze after noticing that Mutinta was a high ranking police officer. He saluted for her and gave way for her “I am very sorry madam.” He said apologetically. Mutinta told the two officers to leave for a while she talked to the suspect. The two officers left and Mutinta locked the door after them.

She then went to her father and asked “Dad what is the matter, did you kill him” Mr. Hansoka who was now up standing with blood coming from his nose and a swollen eye, nodded his head in agreement. “But why dad” Requested Mutinta Mr. Hansoka then just said “You wont understand what the man did, I am very sorry my daughter, but I would rather die than review what he did to me but if you feel for me you can just find me a good lawyer maybe he can mitigate my punishment but I am ready to face the punishment for my action.

After an hour Mutinta emerged from the room. The two police officers saluted for her, she stopped and told them “Please don’t beat him, he is my father” The officers said at the same time “Yes madam” Mutinta called her lawyer, a renown young lawyer called Max.

Max arrived at Mutinta’s house, without wasting time immediately they sat down. Mutinta stated the reason why she had called Max “Counsel you have heard about this case