I gave birth in a bucket..then threw it in a dump site - Local university student

We didn’t use protection. And I got pregnant. Problem is, I didn’t know I was pregnant. I was always on pills and as such, when I missed my periods it came as a shocker.

We were at a period where my relationship with him was not smooth. I went to a popular place for those who want to get rid of unwanted pregnancies. I was referred by a friend. I paid Sh2,000 and was given some pills. I bled like I was having my periods. I told my boyfriend that I had aborted.

A month later, my periods did not come. We were both scared but we agreed to find ways to terminate it. We did not have money. A friend of his suggested a place in Umoja. It would cost us Sh4,000. I was five months pregnant already.

My boyfriend and I took a matatu and met the man at a Supermarket at Mutindwa market and from where we walked to a one-bedroom house partitioned to look like a clinic.

At the reception was a counter, wooden bench and a bed. My boyfriend paid and he left to purchase ‘medicine’. The ‘doctor’ returned two hours later, and gave me an injection and a pill. He asked me to just calm down. I slept on the bed, my boyfriend worryingly holding my hand.

After another two hours, he gave me another injection and asked us to take a walk. We walked out and went as far as Deliverance Church in Umoja and came back. He said it was supposed to help my muscles relax. But nothing happened.

We left the place dejected and went back to my boyfriend’s place. We were so worried we did not eat. There was an evident bump just close to my abdomen that looked lower and larger than a usual pregnancy. I took painkillers, but the pain!

Hours later, at 4am, I could feel something on my genitals. Like it was opening up. I was giving birth. There was no time to run to a hospital. My boyfriend called a few friends of mine and his, particularly those we knew had done abortions before... They couldn’t help. He called the ‘doctor’ who told him to get a bucket and sit ready... I cannot describe that because I just gave birth to something or someone. There was so much blood. I gave birth in a bucket. We wrapped it in his shirt and a towel, put it in a paper bag and threw it at some dump site.

I kept on bleeding and went to a hospital four days later. I always pray to God to forgive me, but that experience is one that makes me never to imagine being pregnant again. My parents, sisters and relatives know nothing about it.

-(As told by *Georgina Waceke, a local university student).