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Strong
shafts of afternoon sunshine blinded her vision as she sat under her makeshift “kibanda”.
She felt too weary from the bleeding sunshine that sprayed painful jets of heat
through her bruised body. However, she couldn’t really tell whether she felt
weary because of the sun or because of her life that had been tethered to
constant pain and humiliation. This was the only time of the day that she had
few hours to reflect about her life. So in that lonely hour thoughts slammed at
her about her future, which felt both predictable and worrying. She shuddered
because indeed hers had become a worn-out and failed life even after giving
herself to it wholly.
She
was popularly known as “Mama Mboga”, because she traded vegetables to take care
of her family’s needs. She was married for 11years now and had two children, a
boy and a girl. Her husband was a drunk who worked as a Mechanic at a local
garage. He was now indulging excessively in alcohol and every night; he brought
unbearable chaos at home. His life too had deviated significantly from his
expectations and he now unleashed all his frustrations on his wife. Barring his
teeth at her every night, he blamed her for all his misfortunes with his fangs hanging
out of his mouth with deadly poison. In the presence of her stunned two little
kids, she always gasped for breath, her entire body jerking as she sustained humiliated
beatings. However, that beating was not as painful as the stinging words that
he hurled at her.
Mama
Mboga’s always held to that hope that her husband would change one day and
everything would be normal again. But every night, that hope was always blown
away like a flame of a candle in the storm. Now, not only did she have to be
strong for herself but also for her two little innocent children whom she
couldn’t dare look directly in the eyes. The shame and humiliation that she
felt was too heavy a burden to bear just like the truth. Nothing could ever
change the fact that she still loved her husband, despite everything. Though, she
couldn’t remember the last time when he looked or touched her with love. These days,
he always eyed her with resentment as if he was sentenced to tolerate her for
the rest of his life. She had vowed to keep silent about her marriage and wait
for change to happen. Mama Mboga was lost in a moment of illusion that seemed
to dissipate her horrors and numb her pain, even if it meant for a few hours.
Mama Mboga: My drunken husband beats me but I still love him
By Aston Kamunde
| Oct. 11, 2016
