Man dumps wife for bearing a child with disability

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR


Sitting outside Lilongwe Magistrate Courts premises, Mrs. Loyce Shaibu had a story to tell. She did not mind whom to tell, provided you opened your ear to her story.

Shaibu got married 8 years ago. The marriage was blessed with two children. All this time nobody saw a problem in the other until early this year when Loyce gave birth to a child with disability. In an interview, Mrs. Shaibu said soon after giving birth to her disabled son, her husband bade her farewell saying he could not care for a disabled child.

The child was born with an extra large head with a falling forehead. This makes it difficult for the child to see properly. According to Loyce, the father left her with the baby. Lonely she went to Kamuzu Central Hospital where the baby was operated on. The doctors said the child was born with a dangerous liquid in the brain, which caused the tumor.

In a space of less than eight months, Loyce has been to the referral hospital twice as in-patient. The first time she was admitted with the child was March to May this year. Then she went again July to August. But the problem seems far from over. The head is still big for the baby’s age. Stitches on the head tell a longer story of the pain the child is going through than the mother can explain.

Asked why she was at the court, the desperate mother said she had gone to summon her man for divorce since the husband married another wife and vows never to visit her again, unless the child is dead.

“Ndikufuna andimasule. Akuti sangabwerenso kunyumba kwanga chifukwa ndinawaberekera mwana wopundukayu! Koma sindinachite kusankha. Mulungu anatipatsa ine ndinalibe mphamvu zosankha kuti Mulunguyo andipate wina mwana kupatula wopundukayu. (I want him to free me. He said he would never again come to me because I bore him a disabled child. But I did not choose, it is God who gave and I could not dictate on what He should have given me!)” She almost shed tears as she explained.

On how they lived before the birth of the child who is their third born, Loyce said theirs was a wonderful family until “chipsinjochi chinatigwera” (this curse/monster befell us). She also expressed worries on how she was going to assist the child single-handedly since anytime the baby is needed for further operation outside country.

“Sindikudziwa kuti andithandize ndani! Akuti vutoli likufunika kunja koma ine ndi mmene ndililimu. (I don’t know who will help me. Doctors have recommended that the baby be flown outside for specialist examination. But I cannot afford the expenses.),”she lamented sounding desperate.

Her ex-husband works for Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company.

End