Not Ashamed

Not Ashamed

He stepped outside the main door to his house hoping to enjoy the cool evening. He was in his grey tracksuit and black turkeys. As always, this time of the evening is the time he normally use to strategize and come up with good moves to extend his work. His call and passions were well defined in his mind and heart. No one could be able to move him from what he believed in. He always confessed that he was even ready to die for what he stood for. As he paced in the walled yard of his house, suddenly there was a nock on the gate. Someone seemed to be in a hurry or was afraid of something. Without answering, he walked to the gate and asked who it was.

‘It’s Andrew here, please open!’ He shouted knocking the more and even harder. Andrew was his youth campaign leader. He was a very good young man who was a straight forward young man. He opened the gate and Andrew jumped in. He was breathing heavily and he spoke without waiting to catch his breath. 

‘They are coming for you like now. You must run now! You can not use the road, I need to help you escape through the back of your house. It’s really bad. But we can’t talk now. Go! I will tell your wife sir...!’ 

‘Let me take my wallet and...’ 

‘There is no time! Run sir! Go down to Bundu Road and I will find you somewhere there.’ Andrew’s face was now white and he looked worried about his leader. He grabbed the hand of Mr Sowe, the opposition candidate for Mabwe constituency, member of Parliament. Together they run to the backyard and to the high wall that surrounds the house. There was no gate at the back, so Andrew had to squat and asked Mr Sowe to step on him so that he can climb over the wall. 

When that was done, Andrew bolted back to the house, he entered without knocking. Mrs Sowe was watching television with her youngest two year baby boy on her lap. This boy was the third but the only boy. She had two other children, one was fifteen years old and the other was ten. The two girls were in their rooms doing their homework. Mrs Sowe was surprised to see Andrew coming into her house without knocking. She immediately knew that something was not right. She stood up and asked in panic :

‘What is it Andrew? What is it!?’ She was evidently afraid. She hated the politics of the land. However, she had no option but to support her husband who was deeply committed to save the people. Mr Sowe was a darling of the people of his constituency for he was willing to serve them all and treated them equally. 

‘They are coming for Mr Sowe right now. I have already helped him to escape, so I have come to collect his wallet. Please note, when they come, open the door, let them search for him. If they couldn’t find him they will definitely go. But if you lock them out, they will burn your house and that’s not good at all. Now get me the wallet, he needs the money.’

Mrs Sowe literally threw the baby onto the sofa and run to her bedroom. She emerged within seconds holding a brown wallet. There was a sizeable amount of money in that wallet. She handed the wallet to Andrew and she was literally shaking as she handed the wallet. 

‘Are you sure it is a good idea to open the door for those thugs?’ She inquired. 

‘That is the best option now. We need you to be alive that is what is more important. We will be in touch!’ With that, Andrew run out of the house towards the back of the house. As a health and strong young man, he quickly climbed the wall and jumped to the other side. As he landed on the other side, he heard the big bung on the gate, he knew they were there, the blood thirst thugs from the ruling party. 

Andrew expected the worst from these drunk bustards who seem not to think at all. He had no other way of handling the situation. Even if he was to go to the police, they would not come. They will give a bunch of excuses and they will not arrest those monsters. As he stood there, he heard the unmistakable sound of the car glasses being broken. His only option was to run and escape from those guy who do not care about anyone except the people who buy for them bear and drugs so that they can kill their own people. He run as fast as he could, away from the stupid thugs in his leader’s yard. 

Mrs Sowe heard the gate, the breaking of the car windows as she stood right where Andrew left her. She heard some footsteps going at the back of the house. She understood that they were many, probably more that ten. Her guess was right. She did not know what to think. The thought of what they were going to do with her and the kids send shivers down her spine. Her girls stormed out of their rooms and joined her in the sitting room as they had heard some noises around their house. They wanted to find out what was happening. When they saw their mother, they knew that something was not right. Whatever it was, it had managed to terrify their mother. 

At that very moment, there was a knock on the door, without waiting for an answer they opened and five guys walked in. They smelled like raw sewerage, and most were dark in complexion, red eyes and with very dirty clothes. Mrs Sowe looked at them in silence, waiting for them to speak. One of them spoke :

‘Where is Sowe? Tell him to come out now!’ He shouted as one with authority. 

‘He is not here, he travelled today and he will be back in two days in time for his rally on Saturday.’ She thought that they will quickly leave if she could explain in detail. The guy who spoke first time, spoke again. He seemed to be the leader of the whole group. 

‘Woman, if we find him you are going to regret this. Search the rooms boys! Make sure he is not hiding anywhere.’ At that the boys run to the rooms and they were out for around ten minutes. They come back all of them at once. 

‘He is not here sir. If he is hiding, he is not in this house. So can I ask your permission sir?’ This was one of the four which had gone to search the house. 

‘What is it?’ The leader asked. 

‘I have been away from my wife for sometime now, can you please allow me to enjoy this young woman so that I can relief myself.’ He answered his boss as he touched Mercy, Mrs Sowe’s first born. Mrs Sowe knelt down and began to beg them not to do it. 

‘Please don’t touch my kids! Please, you can use me all you want but please don’t touch my innocent daughter please, please hear me...’ Tears were already flowing down her chicks as she spoke begging the leader of these thugs. 

‘Shut up woman! You are mine, yes I am going to use you and my boys are going to enjoy the girls.’ With that, he pushed her down onto the carpet. She was wearing a dress that had buttons on the front from to bottom. He ripped the buttons to expose her beautiful body. He then tore away the bra and the pent. She cried out as she tried to fight. He put a knife on her throat and told her to keep quiet or die. She had to keep quiet so that she can stay alive, and help her children out when this was over. 

She heard he girls fighting the men who were raping them but what could they do when two men were helping each other to rape each of them. The leader of the thugs dissented on her forcing himself on her. He was rough and it was painful as he forced his big manhood into her. She thought that if it could be painful to her a woman who had given birth to three kids, how was it to her little girls. More tears rolled down from the sides on her eyes. When the leader of the crew had finished, as he was pulling up his jeans, another came on her. Then another and another until she lost count. Non of them used any protection. When they were done, they all left. 

Mrs Sowe crawled to find her mobile phone and quickly called an ambulance. She crawled to her girls, they were all naked and were half dead as far as she could tell. She then had to endure an hour for waiting for the ambulance. She and all her children were taken to the hospital. 

Saturday came, and Mrs Sowe and her kids were still in hospital. Mr Sowe himself had visited them several times and each time he came, he would cry bitterly like a woman. On this Saturday, he came in the morning then he had to go to his rally that afternoon. 

The stadium was full, people had braved the ruling party and go to that rally. People were tired of the economic melt down, the educational system collapse, zero rule of law, nil health care and even hunger that was looming. Mr Sowe was then give the stage to address the people :

‘Greetings good people. I stand before you now in great pain because of what I have been subjected to. What we have been subjected to. It’s one thing to comfort someone who have been abused and quit another to be the abused. We are dealing with a regime that is not ashamed at all. I have witnessed fellow Country men being abused by the people who are supposed to protect them. My friends have been abused, my family has been abused and I have been abused greatly. It was better if they had abused me an adult, not those innocent children. What we have now is a terrorist government. They preach democracy during the day but act differently during the night. 

How long are we going to endure this? We can not allow this to continue. Enough is enough people. What then do we do when the obvious becomes foreign to others? What do we do when common sense becomes rare to the prominent others? What do we do when the evil is now considered to be good? What do we do when the silent is accused of shouting? What do we do when the drivers are indicating right while turning to the left? What do we do when they say let us go this way but pointing to the skies? What do we do when the nun becomes the greatest abuser? They are not ashamed. I will tell you what we are to do, we must rise up together and challenge the regime and say enough of this rubbish. We vote together, stand together, defend our vote together and gain our victory together. Who will stand with me!?’

There was a thunderous ‘yes’ that shook the whole town. Every one knew that change was coming.