Grade 10, Rena le Lona Creative Centre
Ntombikayise was a respectful, beautiful and well-mannered Zulu woman. She was 25 years old. She was dark in complexion. She had beautiful, thick African hair, like her mother, and she had a big and beautiful smile. Ntombikayise was forced into an arranged marriage. She was married off to Scelo Dlamini. Scelo Dlamini was a respectful, handsome, well-mannered and well-known man. He was 30 years old. He always did his work.
After a few months, Scelo decided to introduce Ntombikayise to his ancestors. At first Ntombikayise wasn’t in love with Scelo, but as time went by, she realised that Scelo was a good man and he treated her in a good manner. One night they decided to try and have a baby, but they couldn’t conceive one. Scelo decided to inform his parents that Ntombikayise could not conceive. Scelo’s parents decided to find him a second wife because they believed that they were too old and needed an heir.
Scelo didn’t agree with what his parents were saying because he really loved Ntombikayise, but as time went by, he and Ntombikayise decided to agree with his parents. Scelo’s parents decided to go to Mpumalanga to fetch the woman who would bear them the heir they wanted. Her name was Mandisa Mdletshe. She was dark in complexion, beautiful and kind. Mandisa was a lesbian, but her family was against this. She was pressured to be a straight woman, get married and have children. At first, Mandisa decided not to listen to her parents.
She would say, “I am a 27-year-old woman and I have the right to be anything that I want to be.” However, she eventually agreed to marry Scelo.
Scelo’s parents came back with Mandisa. They decided to call a family meeting. Scelo and Ntombikayise attended the meeting and they all agreed to the terms and conditions of the arrangement. Ntombikayise and Mandisa started to get to know each other better as time went by. Mandisa started to open up about the fact that she was a lesbian, but her parents were too homophobic to accept her. Instead, they told her to change herself. Ntombikayise also shared her stories.
As the days went by, Mandisa and Ntombikayise started to fall in love with each other. One day, Scelo and his father were not at home and Scelo’s mother was sleeping. Mandisa and Ntombikayise started to let their emotions control them and kissed each other. They continued kissing each other and after some time Scelo’s mother came inside the room in search of them, but she was in for a surprise. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She rushed to her bedroom and immediately took her phone and called Scelo.
Scelo didn’t answer the phone. She tried a second time and he answered. She told Scelo everything. Mandisa was too late because Scelo was already at the gate. Mandisa and Ntombikayise were panicking. They didn’t know what to do. When Scelo arrived, he banged the door and left it open.
Scelo gave Ntombikayise a look that he never thought he could give her. He spat on the ground and told Ntombikayise that he was very disappointed in her and asked what she knew about dating girls because she was a “Farm Julia”— she knew nothing about lesbianism.
Mandisa interrupted their conversation to try and answer for Ntombikayise. Scelo gave her a hot slap and told her to pack her things and go. She did that with no hesitation. Ntombikayise followed Mandisa and told her not to go anywhere. Scelo’s mother dragged and pushed Mandisa to the door. She threw Mandisa’s clothes out of the door. Mandisa didn’t fight Scelo’s mother. She just picked up her bag full of clothes and sat under the tree outside. After some time, she heard Ntombikayise screaming
Ntombikayise was screaming for too long. Mandisa was starting to become anxious. She knocked on the door but there was no response. She tried opening the door, but it was locked.
She ran to her friend’s brother who stayed four houses away from Scelo’s house. She knocked on his shack until he opened the door. She explained and told him that she needed help. When they got to Scelo’s house they found blood everywhere. In the room, they found Ntombikayise bleeding profusely and Scelo was nowhere to be found.
Mandisa called the police and an ambulance. The police arrived with Scelo in the back of the car. They opened the rear car door and Scelo came out, chained and beaten up. He had confessed to the police. He also said that he had no regrets and that if he were given a chance to do it again, he would. The police beat him up again until he coughed blood. The ambulance came; they took Ntombikayise to the hospital. Mandisa took Scelo’s car and followed the ambulance. The police searched the house, but Scelo’s mother was nowhere to be found.
After the incident, Mandisa and Ntombikayise were asked by the pride community to do interviews so that they could share their story. Months later they started a campaign called, “Pride Lives Matter”. They got married and they lived happily ever after.