Chaos at home

Life seemed to find a new normal for Banda, Cecilia and their children. Banda continued working in the mines while Cecilia thrived in her fish business. They both stayed out of each other's way in order to maintain peace at home even though Banda refused to support any of the children in any way. Cecilia didn't care because she was able to provide for her children through her business. Both of them were mostly away from home so the children basically raised themselves.

Their two oldest sons, Banda Jr. and Nasson had left home to make a life for themselves. The rest of the children were struggling in school except for Chitalu and Mwila who did exceptionally well. They all felt as though Mwila was their mother's favorite so this fueled resentment among the children. Apart from Chitalu, Mwila and Kelvin, the others became rebellious and caused a lot of trouble; not only in school, but at home too. And it all became worse when their Cousin Sakala came to live with them.

She was about the same age as Purity but much more troublesome than her. They got along best. She was 6 feet tall and had strength like a man. She preferred to wear men's clothing so she was sometimes mistaken for a man which made her start a lot of fights. Her parents were fed up with her behavior in the city and were afraid that she would eventually get hurt since the city was more dangerous, so they sent her off to Cecilia's house. She was now unrestrained and unsupervised - a big mistake.

Most days, she and Purity would sit by the roadside and pester passersby until one of them snapped. Then they would get into a fight, severely beating up the person. They would get thrown in jail for a few days until Cecilia bailed them out, only to do it again. Sakala and Purity became well known for this in the neighborhood so everyone feared them. Anyone who was foolish enough to hurt their younger siblings would get a brutal beating. Since everyone knew that those two were not afraid to spend time in jail, no one dared to offend them.

Sakala was not satisfied with just this so she begun picking fights with the illegal dealers and criminals in the area. She wanted to join a gang and possibly become the leader. However, to her disappointment women, especially young girls, were not allowed in. She refused to take it as an answer and decided she would show them all that she was just as strong and capable as any man, even if it meant fighting her way through them all. But Purity got scared and backed out. She didn't want any part of it - they were just teenagers afterall.

Sakala went ahead and raised some hell for the gangs and criminals by stealing their illegal businesses and reporting some of their illegal practices to the police. They were just about through with her. The word on the street was that she was wanted by the gang leaders dead or alive. When Purity told her about it, she scoffed at the news because she did not care. To her, it seemed like a good thing.

"Looks like they know me now," She laughed.

"This is serious Sakala!" Purity retorted. "Anything bad can happen to you. I think these people do not mind killing you after everything you've done to them."

"Relax cousin. I can take care of myself." She replied. "I am going to get some more weed. My supply has run down and my new buyers are waiting for more." She added with a cunning smile as she walked away.

Weeks went by and Sakala's behavior got worse despite further warnings and pleas from Purity. She caused more trouble and angered the gangs even more. They were now actively looking for her so she disappeared for days at a time. They would stake out the house trying to catch her when she returned but she always spotted them and did not dare approach the house.

Three weeks went by and she still had not shown up at the house. Eventually, the gangs gave up on her and stopped sending men to the house. Purity was immensely worried about her but had no idea where to begin looking. She decided to ask around, particularly people she knew hung out with her, but no one knew anything. Then a month and a half later, she finally heard some news. It so happened that She was in jail the entire time and needed someone to bail her out but the police would not let her inform anyone as a way of punishing her since she was such a repeat offender.

Purity took the money Cecilia had left for their upkeep while she was away, went to the police station and bailed her out that evening. On their way back as Sakala shared stories about her ordeal, she saw a few men walking towards them who looked like they were from the gangs. They did not see her because it was already pretty dark so she grabbed Purity by the hand and pulled her into a dirt pathway.

"What are you doing?!" Purity yelled.

"Shhhh..." she whispered. "Those are dangerous men. If they catch us, who knows what they will do!"

"They're gone," Purity said after a while.

"Let us use this path home just to be safe." Sakala suggested. "It is longer, I know, but they will not look for us here."

When they were halfway onto the path, five men ambushed them. They were completely surrounded. Sakala tried to fight them off in order to give Purity a chance to escape. Purity ran off to get help but she was so far from the police station. When she got there, she quickly explained to the police and led them in a haste to the place where they were ambushed. On their way there she got lost at first because she did not know for sure which pathway it was, but she got it right the second time. While she was gone, the men had a little chat with Sakala. Two of the men were holding her, keeping her from running away. They knew that if she ran, they wouldn't be able to catch her because she was a fast runner.

"You did not think that we would catch you, did you?" One of them said. "You bitch! You have been nothing but trouble. Now it is time to deal with you."

He then put his hand on her face and attempted to touch her breasts. She kicked him hard in the groin area and spat on his head. One of the other two guys slapped her in the face and punched her in the stomach causing her to fall to her knees. After he had punched and kicked her for a few more times, the other man put a car tire around her, restraining her arms, and poured paraffin all over her. Then he lit a lighter and set her on fire. They helped their friend up and disappeared into the night.

Sakala screamed and cried for help but by the time Purity arrived with the police, it was already too late. Her lifeless body wrapped in the tire lay on the ground still burning. The police scooped up tons of soil to put out the fire. Then they removed the tire, picked her up and rushed to the hospital where the doctor immediately pronounced her dead. Purity broke down in tears. Afterwards, she returned home with one of the policemen.