Our bungalow house sat on our premises surrounded by a long perimeter wall and a very strong metal gate. I reached out to get the keys from my handbag to open the gate. Surprisingly, the keys refused to open. The lock was different from what I left in the morning. He had come in our absence and changed the locks to deny us access. There was no one within the compound to open the gate since we lived there alone. I had to immediately think of a plan of how to enter the compound since it was getting dark and cold. Luckily, I saw a motorcycle rider who was rushing to pick a customer. I asked him for a hand to support us jump into the compound over the gate. This seemed like a very impossible procedure, in a minute he looked at me in disbelief. Then he decided to help so that he could quickly rush to his next business. He carefully supported me to stand on his bike which was placed against the gate, when I was able to grip the top part of the gate he raised me gently and I was able to move step by step and managed to land safely on the inside without compromising my 32-week pregnancy. My daughter who was now becoming impatient followed my steps slowly and carefully and finally managed to get to where I was. It was a big relief to be within the safety of our premises despite the difficulties experienced.

To my surprise again, my pair of keys could still not open the main house door and also the rear kitchen door. It was soon realized that he had replaced all the locks to the main entries with new ones and he was not at home. There was hardly any possibility that we could gain entry. We threw ourselves helplessly on the ground with a disappointed and hopeless look on our faces. By this time Camilla could not be silent due to hunger and cold. She kept on complaining and I understood her since she had not had a solid meal since we left the church.

To calm her down, I reassured her that we will finally enter the house and warm the delicious food we had stored in the fridge. I tried all means possible to see if we could find an opening that could give us access to the house but there was none. I used the little energy remaining and attempted to break the locks but that did not work as well. I thought if perhaps our daughter called the dad using my phone to come and open, he would be merciful when he gets to hear her desperate voice. But that did not work, he was not moved an inch. Instead, he dropped a message saying,

“Am sending corps, make sure they don’t find you in the compound.”

My Ex-Husband

He added we should otherwise go find an alternative place to spend the night. Remember, we could not have jumped over the gate again to go outside since there was no one to help and still it was more difficult to jump out than in. I was heavily pregnant, weak, and worn out to try anything more. I was devastated, and crushed to pieces. All my efforts were wasted. Sadly, to add salt to the injury my phone went off, which implied I couldn’t have called anyone for help or to rescue us. How could someone I called my husband and father to my daughter do this barbaric thing? I tried to reconcile my thoughts on this tragic ordeal but it just could not.

When every effort seemed to have failed, we decided to lay our heads in the garage that was on-site to try and catch some little sleep. This was an open shed that doubled up as a store. We left nothing to hide from the cold in dust bags, rags, and torn clothes. I was stressed, hungry, and cold. I trembled in fear. I was afraid whether my daughter and the unborn baby would be able to get through the difficult situation. I was scared of our safety. The night was too long and none of us could risk falling asleep. I was very upset and could not get the right words to tell God. I wanted to cry but no tears came out.

If you thought the worst had happened. Hear this. The whole compound was quiet and dark. The security lights were either disconnected or switched off from inside. The night was as if completely dead. Suddenly, a loud bang was heard coming from the gate. The gate was opened widely and there was commotion and tone of low voices coming from the gate. I almost stopped breathing. My heart was racing so fast. I quickly covered my daughter’s mouth to prevent her from making any noise that would alert anyone of our hiding place. In a blink of an eye, five heavily built men with blinding torches stormed the compound. True to his word, he sent the ‘corps’ as he had earlier threatened. They carefully moved from one corner of the compound to another by way of patrol. They combed out the compound to ensure there was no one hiding. The only thing that popped into my head at the time was murder, rape, and all sorts of inhumane acts. What were they sent to do? We did not have the strength or courage to scream or run for our dear lives. We had no place to hide. We lay paralyzed by the last thread of hope. Perhaps they had been sent to destroy or eliminate us, I thought.

After doing many rounds in the compound, by sheer luck, they did not locate us. It is not that we could not be seen, I considered this as one of the miracles that still existed, that they got blinded from seeing us. God shielded, protected, and preserved us from the enemies. They could not discern or sense our presence. There was no single hint of our existence. “They are very lucky,” They mumbled in frustration as they walked away and locked the gate behind them. Their mission seemed to have been aborted.

When Monday morning came and there was evidence of the rays of light and the sun shining, I was hopeful the day would turn out to be good. We had just made a silent prayer before we heard a gentle knock at the gate, then followed by calling my name. I knew this must be someone coming in peace. It was Mama Judy who had come to check on us since she could not reach us on the phone. We narrated to her our ordeal while she was outside the gate. Since she could not get in, she bought us a loaf of bread and a packet of milk in the nearby shop and somehow managed to narrow it down under the gate. She whispered a prayer of victory and some words of encouragement before she left and promised to come back later.

This served as a very important meal to us since we had starved for so many hours. We had a brief moment of celebration after which we gained some strength to think of the next action. I raised an alarm that attracted and caught the attention of people who were passing by. As they came to check what was happening, I explained the situation and cried out desperately for help. One of the motorbike riders who was rushing to deliver a parcel stopped by. He offered to help break the locks before proceeding with his assignment. He borrowed some tools from a neighboring kiosk and came ready. He started with the gate which he managed to break the lock. 

This at least gave us some hope that we were getting somewhere. He was now able to come inside and do the same to the house doors. The process was successful and when he was done I offered him a few notes as appreciation but he declined. It felt nice and such a relief to finally be able to access the house. We quickly took a warm shower and warmed the available food that was stored in the fridge a few days ago. At this point, I could not think of anything else but to 1st relax on the couch while eating our meal and at least ease the stress will a little bit of entertainment from one of our favorite programs that was ongoing.

Our relief and joy lasted for a few minutes. It didn’t take long before we heard a loud bang coming from the gate. I struggled to rise since I was tired and was about to catch a nap when it suddenly disappeared. Gosh, here we go again.

PART 3