Pregnant at 14

By Vukani Khumalo

This book relates the harrowing tale of a 14-year-old school girl, Bonani Sibiya, who is thrown into a vicious circle of psychological trauma as a result of a shameful pregnancy. The discovery of this pregnancy deeply devastates her parents who had great expectations from her. Her pregnancy also lays bare the vile propensities of some men, who tend to allow their desires to overcome their thinking abilities, with dire consequences for the targets of their twisted desires. Bonani tries her best to protect the identity of the person who impregnated her, until she is physically coerced to reveal him. When she finally does reveal the identity of the culprit, everyone is shaken to the core.

While the book is not intended to trigger paranoia, it is, however, a cautionary tale and does encourage a heightened sense of awareness and vigilance to society to protect young women and girls. At the same time it is meant to inspire deterrence to those who might harbour illicit desires towards young girls

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vukani Khumalo
• Release date: Jan 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005299996

Book preview

Pregnant at 14

A Little Girl’s Harrowing Tale To Navigate A Shameful Betrayal

Vukani Khumalo

Copyright © 2020 Vukani Khumalo

Published by Vukani Khumalo Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Vukani Khumalo using Reach Publishers’ services,

Edited by Colleen Figg for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Website: www.reachpublishers.org

E-mail: [e-mail]

Vukani Khumalo

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

1. Esibanini Primary School Principal’s Office

2. Esibanini Primary School Hall During the Day

3. A Few Weeks After the Beauty Queen Competition

4. A Week After Miss Khumalo Revealed Her Suspicions to the Principal

5. Bonani Presents Herself Before the Principal

6. Qhamkile and Dumsile Appear Before the Principal

7. Ma’am Magwenya and Miss Khumalo Meet the Following Day

8. Bonani’s Parents Are Invited to School

9. Later That Day in Bonani’s Bedroom

10. That Same Afternoon in Sibiya’s Bedroom

11. Mandlela’s Meeting With Ma’am Magwenya and Miss Khumalo at Esibanini Primary School

12. School Governing Body Meeting

13. On the Way From Esibanini Primary School to Sibiya Home

14. Day of the Extended Family Meeting at Bonani’s Family Home

Chapter 1

Esibanini Primary School Principal’s Office

The year was 2005 and the place was eSibanini Primary School in Hlabisa—a rural village 260 kilometres north of the City of Durban, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa. The school was named ‘isibani’ an isiZulu name loosely translated as ‘a light’ – and was established as an institution to bring light to this rural and— largely illiterate community.

On this particular day, the weather was uncharacteristically windy for an early morning in the month of October—swirling up huge balls of blinding dust in the dusty, unpaved lawn of this rural school. This unpleasant weather condition exhibited a dull aura of sadness, which was mystifying to many who were observing it, but would later appear to have been some kind of strange premonition for the disconcerting news that was about to engulf this tiny, sleepy village of Hlabisa. This was the news which Miss Khumalo was about to reveal to her principal concerning one of the girl learners at the school, fourteen-year-old Bonani Sibiya.

Although some level of development had been brought into this village since the dawn of democracy in South Africa in 1994, in terms of the installation of electricity and communal water taps in some households, the village remained largely rural, with many households still surviving without electricity and running water. While some households’ livelihoods depended on men who were migrant workers in the cities of Johannesburg and Durban, who would regularly send money to their families back in the village, many households still depended on subsistence farming. Many villagers continued to draw water for cooking and other household chores from the river. Many also still relied heavily on hewing wood to make fire for cooking. The unemployment rate remained very high within the community, despite the dawn of democracy, which was supposed to bring with it a lot of employment opportunities for all the citizens of South Africa. This was a major source of discontent among the villagers here, who complained that their continued participation in elections had never really changed their lives in any meaningful way. They were starting to suspect that they were just being used by political parties as voting fodder, without gaining anything from exercising their right to vote.

Despite these negative elements, however, the village of Hlabisa prided itself in the quality education that was provided at eSibanini Primary School which, despite its visibly defective and inadequate infrastructure as well as lack of resources, was able to produce pupils who later became successful professionals and productive members of society. The school was renowned for being able to lay a good foundation for its learners to become prosperous professionals because of its astute principal, fondly referred to as Ma’am Magwenya, whose leadership and management qualities defied the conditions under which she and her staff delivered education to their learners.

Ma’am Magwenya was in her late fifties and was a long-serving principal of eSibanini Primary School. She herself had been a learner at the school some decades earlier, and had later begun her teaching career there, when she qualified as a teacher. Because of her unparalleled dedication to her work, which produced outstanding results, she was able to move up the ranks to eventually become principal of the school. Her undivided commitment to her work made her expect the same from her staff. She was also a very strict disciplinarian, who expected respect, good behaviour and undivided focus from both her staff and learners. While she was very motherly in character, she could also easily lose her temper when she felt that she was not being taken seriously or when she believed that people were not doing what they were expected to do.

Because of her extraordinary qualities as a principal, which produced outstanding results, Ma’am Magwenya was able to attract many good and exceptional teachers to the school, who wanted to be part of a winning team. As a result, eSibanini Primary School was envied by many principals in the area, who did their best to emulate Ma’am Magwenya, in their quest to become as successful as she was at her school.

One of her star-performing teachers was Miss Khumalo, who was a petite woman in her mid-twenties, with a curvaceous body of a beauty queen, whose attractive smile was further enhanced by lovely dimples on her cheeks. Her easy-going character made her close and accessible to her learners; particularly girl learners, for whom she had a special interest as a young woman herself.

Although she was born in the City of Durban, where she had grown up and conducted her studies, when she obtained her first job in the rural village of Hlabisa, she was greatly fascinated by rural life, and she found herself dedicating all her energies to uplifting rural girls, who faced a number of difficult circumstances; which were inhibitive to their development into independent, successful and productive members of society. She was dedicated to breaking the many chauvinistic stereotypes harboured by society, which were a source of keeping girl learners less successful than their male counterparts. She did her best to try and insulate them from all manner of social ills that were prevalent in many similar communities and which tended to impede their progress—such as teenage pregnancy, early and forced marriages, among others.

Miss Khumalo applied many tactics to keep girl learners focused. As part of this strategy, when she first arrived at the school and saw the conditions that girl learners, in particular, were faced with, she decided to initiate an annual beauty contest at the school in which many girl learners enthusiastically participated. By doing this, she wanted girl learners to develop self-esteem at a very young age and to have pride in themselves and in their bodies, which would help them later in life as they decided on different careers to pursue. At the same time, she was able to use this contest to educate girls about social ills and gave them tips to help them avoid falling victim to these social ills that were ravaging their communities.

The school principal, Ma’am Magwenya, was just finishing her sandwich, which was part of her lunch box for the day, when she heard a knock on her office door. Thinking that it was one of the learners, who were in the habit of coming and knocking on her door to report petty issues, she responded almost angrily.

Who is that? This is lunchtime, don’t you know? Everyone should be having lunch at this time. I cannot even get a chance to release gas alone in my office because of fear of your ever-persistent knocks! Is there any emergency or has someone died?

To her surprise, when the response came, it was not one of the learners but one of her colleagues, Miss Khumalo.

It’s me, Ma’am, said Miss Khumalo with a slight giggle in her voice—imagining how embarrassed the principal would be when she entered her office, if indeed she had passed wind, thinking that no one would come and knock on her door, since it was lunchtime.

A little bit embarrassed at her own unpleasant utterances, Ma’am Magwenya responded with a giggle of her own.

Oh, okay! My apologies. I did not realise it was you, Miss. You can come in. I thought you would still be having lunch yourself. I just thought it was one of these children, who never give me a break. They are always coming here to report anything, from ‘so-and-so beat up so-and-so’; ‘so-and-so ate so-and-so’s lunch’ and so on and so on. It just never stops, you know!

After recomposing herself, a sad-looking Ms Khumalo entered the principal’s office. Ma’am Magwenya closed her lunch box and invited Miss Khumalo to sit in the chair at the opposite end of the table. Ma’am Magwenya, who adored this young woman’s dedication to her work and therefore had a special liking for her, realised that something seemed to be bothering her, and quickly enquired using Miss Khumalo’s clan name, before Miss Khumalo could start talking about what brought her to the office.

What’s wrong, Ntungwa? You look sad! Are you okay? Is anything worrying you?

Miss Khumalo responded in a voice which, indeed, showed she was concerned about something.

You got it right, Ma’am. There is something that is very unsettling for me about one of the learners in my class, and I don’t know exactly where to start.

The principal started to become concerned when she heard Miss Khumalo’s response, because she knew her to be a problem-solver in her own right, who rarely reported a problem before attempting to solve it herself. She would only report something if it was really beyond her ability to solve it. She spoke while she put her lunch box back in her bag.

What is it that is bothering you, Miss Khumalo? Is there a learner who is not well?

For a moment, Miss Khumalo kept quiet and looked away, while rubbing her hands together, not certain where to start and how to relate the story correctly, such that the principal would not be overly shocked. At the last moment she decided to put it as crudely as possible, anyway, to underscore the seriousness of the situation, and elicit the principal’s undivided attention so that they could come up with a solution to the problem, as a matter of urgency.

Saying that she is not well could be a serious understatement. The situation is far beyond that. I don’t even know how to relate this story correctly, Ma’am.

That statement elicited a heightened level of concern from the principal, who enquired further.

Speak out, Miss Khumalo. Tell me what is going on? Don’t beat about the bush, talk. I do not want a situation where someone’s child dies under our watch and they blame us for negligence. What is the matter, Miss?

Miss Khumalo took a deep breath and then looked at the principal straight in the eye and started talking in a soft voice, as if to prevent anyone who might be eavesdropping from hearing their conversation.

Ma’am, I have not yet verified what I am going to say to you, but I have deep suspicions that there is a pregnant learner in my class...

This caught Ma’am Magwenya by total surprise and she exclaimed in disbelief at what she was hearing. She took off her glasses, raised her eyebrows, and started rambling, as if by doing so, the reality would change.

"My goodness! What? Did I hear you correctly? You cannot tell me that! You just cannot tell me that. Are we not teaching underaged children at this school? Don’t tell me that there are some girls who have reached a stage where they can become pregnant! This is a primary school, for God’s sake. I don’t believe I heard you correctly. Did I hear you correctly or am I just dreaming? Did you just say that there is a child who is pregnant in your class?" Ma’am Magwenya’s tone became ever more incredulous.

Having passed the difficult part of dropping the bombshell, Miss Khumalo responded calmly.

You heard me correctly, Ma’am, and trust me, you are not dreaming. But let me hasten to say that I don’t as yet have complete proof of what I’m saying to you, but everything seems to point to the fact that this child is indeed pregnant.

What is it that you saw, which makes you harbour these suspicions? asked Ma’am Magwenya curiously, not yet completely convinced that a child in a primary school could be pregnant. This was something that was taboo and unheard of in the conservative, rural village, despite the fact that the scourge of child marriages was prevalent.

Miss Khumalo continued in her calm demeanour.

Well, Ma’am, let me say that, as a woman yourself there are things which you can observe from a girl child when things don’t seem to add up. It is the same situation with this child in question. There are things which I have observed from this child, which are of serious concern to me. You see, all along she has always had a slim figure, but of late her waist area has become so roundish, that it now resembles that of a python which has just devoured a huge meal. Over and above that, she is always sleepy in class and has developed a tendency to isolate herself from other learners, as if there is something that is eating her up inside and causing her to view herself differently from other learners. I’m really concerned, Ma’am. These signs are not looking good at all.

Ma’am Magwenya put her glasses on and quickly took them off again, then put them on the table. Clearly rattled and disturbed by what she had just heard, she replied, Miss Khumalo, have you spoken to this child to find out what is eating her up and why she is isolating herself from other learners? You should understand that there are many things which may cause young people to behave in a particular way. It could be that there are problems at home, which are causing her to behave in this way. Perhaps it’s something that is happening between her parents, which is affecting her negatively. Young people are very sensitive. You know that yourself.

Miss Khumalo’s response displayed what she was known for, as being