Beatrice, a Kenyan lady, has described how she overcame a succession of painful situations, including forced marriages, child loss, and an abusive relationship.
Beatrice stated to TUKO that her children perished after her husband married another woman who supposedly practiced witchcraft.
According to the woman, her father died while she was a youngster, and they were evicted from his property because her mother refused to be inherited by her brother-in-law.
Her paternal aunt came to pick her up for school but married her off to another man when she was 14 years old in Nairobi. She lost consciousness when he thrust himself on her.
“I slept and found myself in a hospital, and once I was okay, I was forced to return to the evil man who had forced himself on me,” Beat explained.
They began their marriage, and he suggested that they build a house in the rural village. He eventually left her in the village to oversee the building of their house.
It turned out to be a pretext for him to marry another lady while she was eight months pregnant. She collapsed when she learned about it.
The second woman came to the house to see Beatrice and delivered a dreadful warning.
“She said you had to leave your husband for me or all your children would perish.” “After a week, my child became ill, and when I took her to the hospital, they told me she had pneumonia,” Beatrice explained.
“I took the baby to the hospital first thing in the morning and returned by 2 p.m. By 3 p.m., she had stopped breastfeeding and began acting strangely. At 6.30 p.m., she began convulsing, and when her in-laws arrived, the father claimed the baby would die soon. My husband did not attend the burial because he said that individuals in the company would ruin everything. “He said he’d just get me pregnant again,” she added.
“Beatrice became pregnant again, and she felt so sad and lonely at the time that she confided in her friend.” Beatrice was invited to her friend’s home, but once there, she realized it was all a ruse to have her married to her friend’s physically challenged brother. He imposed himself on her, and she stayed as his wife for a year.
“I delivered a baby girl; there was no food, the man was physically challenged, and his mother was too old,” she explained.
A witchcraft practitioner came to the house, and while they slept, Beatrice claimed that the baby died in his sleep as a result of the woman’s rituals.
‘I returned to my first husband, and he got me pregnant again. My daughter died within a month, and I pondered why my husband never came to bury any of his children. “I told my in-laws nimeteseka tangu niwe mtoto that I am leaving this marriage because I will die,” Beatrice explained.
“After a year, I met another man who, despite my past, married me.” Despite his love for me, the man had an issue that no one wanted to tell me about. “His family adored me,” she claimed.
Things between the new marriage deteriorated, and the couple split up, with Beatrice fleeing for her life.
“When my son was four months old, my husband went insane and killed a chicken, buried it, and then brought it back.” He’d say ridiculous things and speak in English. I took my infant and fled in a petticoat into a sugar cane plantation to avoid my new husband, who was hard on my tail.
Beatrice was reborn and found work as a housekeeper. She now works for a great boss and has managed to educate her three children.
She now has four grandchildren after losing five pregnancies and three children.
Her supervisor is very nice to her and has even spent KSh 200,000 to cover the cost of her COVID-19 therapy in 2021.
