A Kenyan woman, Beatrice, has narrated how she survived a series of traumatic events, including forced marriages, child loss, and an abusive relationship.
Speaking to TUKO, Beatrice claimed her children died after her husband married another woman, who allegedly practiced witchcraft.
According to the woman, her father died while she was still a young child and they were thrown out of his land because her mother refused to be inherited by her brother-in-law.
Her paternal aunt came for her in the guise of taking her to school but married her off to another man at 14 years old in Nairobi. When he forced himself on her she lost her consciousness.
“I slept and found myself in a hospital and once I was okay, I was forced to return to the evil man who forced himself on me,” shared Beat
They started their marriage, and he told her that they should go build a house in the rural village. He later left her in the village to supervise the construction of their home.
She discovered it was an excuse for him to marry another woman while she was eight months pregnant. When she heard about it, she collapsed
The other woman came to the home to visit her and had a dire warning for Beatrice.
“She said you have to leave your husband for me or all your kids will die. After one week, my child got sick and when I took her to the hospital, they said she has pneumonia,” shared Beatrice
“I took the baby to the hospital in the morning and returned by 2 pm. By 3 pm she wasn’t breastfeeding and started behaving funnily. At 6.30 pm she started convulsing and when the parents-in-law came, the father said the baby will soon die. My husband never came for the funeral, he said people will spoil things in the company. The man said he will just make me pregnant again,” she added.
“Beatrice fell pregnant again and during that time, she felt so sad and lonely and confided in her friend. The friend invited Beatrice to her home but while there; she realised it was a ploy to get her married to her buddy’s physically challenged brother. He forced himself on her, and she remained there as his wife for a year
“I delivered a baby girl; there was no food, the man was physically challenged and his mum was too old, so I became the sole breadwinner,” she added.
A woman known for witchcraft visited the house and as they slept Beatrice alleged that the baby just died in his sleep because of the woman’s practices .
‘I went back to my first husband, and he made me pregnant again. I got a daughter, but she died within a month and I wondered why my husband never came to bury any of his kids. I told my parents-in-law nimeteseka tangu niwe mtoto I am leaving this marriage because I will die,” said Beatrice.
“After one year I met another man who married me despite my past. Although he loved me, the man had a problem that no one wanted to tell me. His family really loved me,” she added
Things between the new couple took a turn for the worse and the couple parted with Beatrice running for dear life.
“When my boy was four months old, my hubby went crazy and killed a chicken, buried it and brought it back again. He would say crazy stuff and speak in English. I took my baby and ran away in a petticoat into a sugar cane plantation to escape my new husband who was in hot pursuit.
Beatrice got born again and got a job as a househelp. She now works for a very good boss and has managed to educate her three surviving kids.
After losing 5 pregnancies and three kids, she now boasts of four grandkids.
Her boss is very kind to her and even spent KSh 200,000 to pay for her COVID-19 treatment in 2021.
