Slightly over three years since she was viciously attacked and her arms chopped off in “domestic tiff”, Jackline Mwende today moves her prosthetic arms with ease as she goes about her business at her Kathama village home in Machakos County.
Her scars are visible, the the wounds have healed, but she says she is still recovering emotionally.
“I’m good and doing well as you can see,” Mwende, 26, remarked when The Nairobian caught up with her at her rural home.
We found her happily chatting with her parents, her son, Gift Savali, playing nearby.
Mwende’s fortunes can be said to have improved for the better.
Her four-roomed house constructed by Merck Foundation, a charitable organisation, stands out as a relative fine piece of art in the village. The house is fitted with solar lighting and a water tank.
It was part of the offers she received from well-wishers when her shocking story hit the headlines in July 2016.
And to put up her life back together to near normalcy, LG, the electronics company, also sponsored her treatment in South Korea, where she was fitted with prosthetic limbs.
“They may not be my real arms, but they are comfortable and I have learnt to use them. They are of great help,” Mwende said.
A well-wisher also opened a shop for her at the busy Masii market along the Machakos – Kitui road, where she spent most of her time before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The shop is now closed, but she will re-open it as soon as the situation improves, she says. She is also looking forward to her son Gift joining school next year.
The ghastly attack, she says, was meted on her by a person she loved with all her heart. She claims the attack was triggered by her inability to conceive.
Her husband, Stephen Ngila, was arrested and charged with attempted murder. The judgement of the case is slated for July 14, 2020.
Mwende says she wants to forget the past and focus on God. She is also thankful to well-wishers who gave her a reason to live.
“I thank God for bringing me this far,” she said.
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She thanked Merck Foundation, LG, former Machakos County woman representative Dr Susan Musyoka and Machakos County Government for stepping in to “reorganise my life.”
Also read: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/kenya/article/2000219215/jackline-mwende-with-my-new-hands-i-feel-complete
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