MILANI CELE
I agreed to to rape kit being done. I had pictures of taken, they found seamen in me which they will need Nqaba's DNA to see if it matches his. I know it will. I had to do what I did. I had to do it to maintain control. I was simply not going to let him divorce me just like that. There is no divorce here. Now that the first is done, I'll lay low until Friday. I look at the man sitting across from me. He said he was Detective Mbhele.
"Mrs Cele, I know you've spoken to the other officer and made a statement but I am going to ask you some questions. As I said earlier this is my case now, I'll need to gather as much information and evidence to make you get justice." He says taking a sip of his bottled water. "It says here, your husband caught you in bed with another man, is that true?"
"yes it is. I didn't plan for it to happen. It just happened." I try to sound convincing. "Mhhhh, that's what we all say." He says. "Can you tell me exactly what happened." he requested not even looking at me. What that even mean?
"When my husband came home, I was having sex with friend Mnqobi. He didn't say much when he caught us but I could tell he was angry. He felt betrayed. I begged him to stay so that we could talk but he left me, us there. I don't know where he went because he never even called. Nqaba came back last night and he was till angry. I tried to talk to him, to explain thing but he didn't want to hear it. He went over the edge when Mnqobi came by saying he wanted to check on me. Instantly he a knife on the stand and told us to walk to the bed room. He was very angry. I had never seen him that angry before. We begged him not to do any stupid but he slapped him and punched Mnqobi, making him week. He made Mnqobi strip naked and tied him to the bed. He made sit on the chair that was in there and tied me using the belt from my robe. He made watch while he raped Mnqobi, telling me that this is all my fault. This is happening because I cheated on him. He was an animal. I had never seen him like that. He left him on the bed and came to me asking why I did what I did. I told him it was because he hadn't touched me in months and I that I am human and I have needs. He untied me and dragged me to the main bedroom and forced himself on me after beating me senseless and left me there crying. I think I passed out at some point because when I woke up it was the early hours of the morning and I went to his room to check on him and found him sleeping and there was blood all over the bed. That's when I called the police." I don't know if this detective believes me. He is not giving anything away. My goal here is to make sure that no one finds out that this is a set up.
"Ok Mrs Cele. I hear you. I am not going to keep you hear any longer. For now, we'll continue with our investigation and if I need anything I'll be in touch. We have your contact details here, I'll keep in touch." He stands, grabbing his file and walks out without another word. I guess that means I can go home. I must say even though this was not m original plan, it worked perfectly. Now let me go home, freshen up and get some sleep. There's still a lot I need to do. I also need to contact my lawyer, I need to know what happens with the divorce under these circumstances. An officer comes in and escorts me out. As we walk out of the interrogation room I notice his lawyer walking into what I assume is another interrogation room. I thought it was going to be a while before he could get his lawyer here. How come the detective didn't ask me about his lawyer, why didn't he ask me to contact the lawyer. It doesn't matter now. The damage is done. No lawyer will be able to get out of this. Rape, murder and assault, those are serious charges and there evidence. Nqaba is going to jail for a long time. He will know never to mess with any woman. How dare he think that he can do as he pleases. I politely ask the officer if I can use the phone to call someone to pick me up and he takes me to the reception area where I make the call and I go and wait outside.
It doesn't take long, Mihle shows and I quickly jump in the car. As soon as she sees me, she gasps in shock seeing the bruises on my face. "Milani what happened to you?"
"My husband happened." I can't tell her that it was planned. No, I need everyone I can get in my corner and this has always been in my corner and it's perfect. "What? What do you mean, did he do this to you? No Milani. That man has never not once tried to hit you, what happened." Do I want to tell her that I was cheating on Nqaba with Mnqobi and he caught me in the act in our marital bed. No, she doesn't need to know everything. She'll know what she needs to know. Right now I need her to sympathize with me. "Can we not talk about this now Emmy, I am tired, my body hurts, I need some rest, we can talk after. Please don't tell the other ladies. I'll tell them myself." I say sounding tired. "Of cause dear. Just let me know what you." After that she drives in silence leaving me to swim in my thoughts, planning out my next move.
NQABA CELE
I've been seating here for an hour, no one is saying anything. The detective hasn't been back yet. I need to let my parent know abut what happening and Mabutho. I definitely need Mabutho. This whole thing is definitely a set up and I don't to think Milani has anything to with it. Yes, she is my wife and has never been kind to me and I recently asked her for a divorce but this is not something you plan overnight. This has been planned for a long time. Could this be the reason why she didn't throw her toys about the divorce because she knew what she was planning something.
The door open, the detective and my lawyer walk in and he has a bag with him. "Can you allow my client to change into comfortable clothes?" Detective takes the bag, undoing my cuffs and leads to a bathroom without saying a word. I take the bag and change. God bless Mandla there's even a tooth brush in here. I clean myself and walk out feeling a little like a human. We walk back to interrogation room where my lawyer is waiting. I sit back on my chair and the detective follows but this time he doesn't cuff me. "Nqaba how are you doing man?" Mandla asks very concerned. "I'm ok. Just confused with what is going on. Nothing makes sense Mandla. You are my lawyer so please make it make sense."
"I have some questions for you." The detective cuts in before Mandla can respond to me. Mandla nods at me, a sign that I can answer this man's questions.
"What did you do when you found your wife in bed with another man, not just any man, your friend?" He asks taking his not pad and getting ready to write my answer.
"I didn't do anything, Detective. I walked in and froze. I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at. Anger, betrayal, disbelief—they all crashed into me at once. I wanted to leave and pretend I saw nothing but I didn't. I cleared my throat get their attention, that's they realized they had been caught. They tried telling it's not what it looks like and that they didn't mean for it to happen. I couldn't believe Milani, my wife would do this to me after everything she has put me through in our marriage. I told them I suspected that she was cheating but I never thought the man would be my friend. I didn't recognize my own voice, I just turned and left. But I didn't lay a hand on either of them."
The detective narrows his eyes, scribbling my response. I catch a glimpse of Mandla's expression; he looks like he's calculating the weight of my words. "What happened next?"
"I left the house, I didn't want to see them any longer. I drove straight to my parents house, I told what happened and I spent the night there. Yesterday after work I decided to go back to my house. I needed to talk to Milani about signing the divorce papers. She had cooked dinner. So we sat and ate, she tried to apologize but it was too hard for me. I couldn't even finish the food. I left her there and went to my room, next I wake up to your men slapping cuffs on me and blood all over me."
The detective glances at Mandla again. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"
I look down, clenching my fists. "You need to know that our marriage wasn't a rosy. There was a lot of problems including domestic abuse…." I see the detective raising his head with flicker of curiosity and hope that Milani was right about me. "…before you say anything detective, it was not my wife that was being abused, it was me." Now that grabs his attention and he is shocked probably wondering how such a big man can be abused by a tiny woman like Milani.
"I did. I came to this very police station twice but some the both cases just went dead. I was told they couldn't find the dockets." I his curiosity is piqued right now about now. The detective probes, and I can hear the tension in his voice. "Have copies of those case files, should you need them." Mandla says before the Detective Mbhele could say anything else.
I can feel the anger simmering beneath the surface threatening to boil over again. "It is hard to believe that my wife betrayed me in such a way. I stayed in our marriage hoping it would get better."
"Interesting," he replies, leaning back in his chair. "And your friend? Where does he fit into this?"
"Mnqobi? He always had a way of buddying up to me, always there for the drinks and the games, until he stopped and kept his distance. Started accusing me and Mabutho of thinking we better than him. He just became distant and we didn't know why. I never suspected... never saw it coming. I thought he had just out grown our friendship . It makes me sick to think of it. I believe that this was a set up because I don't remember doing any of it. I am pretty sure I was drugged."
Mandla interjects, "Let's focus on the facts here. We need to build your defense against these accusations. How can we prove that this was a setup?"
"I don't know," I reply, feeling the weight of despair pressing down on me. "Maybe the surveillance cameras in the house? Maybe they caught something before I came home?"
The detective leans closer, his curiosity piqued. "Cameras, you say? That could be a game-changer."
"Please, just figure it out," I plead, the urgency rising in my voice. "I didn't hurt anyone. I most definitely didn't kill anyone."
"We can also have you tested to see if there's traces of any drugs in your system and they also need your DNA sample Nqaba." Mandla tells us and for some reason I feel like this is deeper than we think. "Detective, can I have a word with my client alone please." The detective doesn't put up a fuss, he takes his things and walks of the room.
"Nqaba, I am not going to lie to you, it's not looking good at all. I saw the file. The evidence that they have against you is overwhelming. Your only hope here is the surveillance, if there's nothing there, I am telling you now, we going to lose this case. The prosecution is going to push for First Degree Murder and life in prison but they can't prove that you planned to killed Mnqobi, so I'll push for culpable homicide which can also be referred to as manslaughter. We can the route of being reckless and careless, you didn't know what you doing and a lighter sentence. But before all this, let's get the tests done and get the results and we'll take it from there. I also need to get you a bail hearing." He is right, this is not looking good at all, this could go either way. "What are the chances of getting bail?"
"Honestly, it could go either way. You are a flight risk." I hear him and I under. "Let me go, I'll come back to see you later. I need to sort out this bail issue. I have informed Mabutho and he will inform your family and don't worry about Lwandle. She won't get her hands on him." I nod and he walks out. A few minutes later someone walk in and takes a swab of my mouth and gives me a container to pee in. After all that I am taken to a holding cell where there's two other people.
"What is Milani's plan here, is it for me to rot in jail and then what, what it is that she stands to gain?" The thought gnawed at me as the cell's silence pressed in from all sides. Every detail replayed in my mind—the carefully planted evidence, the whispers that had spread too quickly, the way her eyes had lingered on me the night of the murder. It wasn't just about revenge; Milani was orchestrating something bigger, something that required me out of the way. The question wasn't whether she wanted me gone—it was what empire she intended to build on the ruins of my life.The more I thought about Milani, the more the walls of the cell seemed to close in. She wasn't reckless; every move she made was calculated, deliberate. If she wanted me behind bars, it was because my absence cleared the path for something she couldn't achieve with me free. Was it money? More power? More control? Or something darker, something personal?
The silence of the prison was deafening, but beneath it I could almost hear her laughter, echoing in the distance, mocking me for playing right into her hands.Every possibility twisted through my mind like smoke. If Milani had orchestrated this, then she had allies—someone to plant the knife, someone to whisper lies into the right ears. I could almost see the threads of her web stretching across the city, binding judges, detectives, even old friends. The more I pulled at them, the tighter they seemed to wrap around me. And yet, buried beneath the fear, a spark of defiance burned. If she thought I would crumble quietly in this cell, she had underestimated me. I would find the truth, even if it meant tearing apart every shadow she hid behind.
Sleep never came easily in the cell. Every creak of the pipes, every shuffle of boots in the corridor felt like a reminder that Milani's plan was still unfolding beyond these walls. She had set the stage perfectly: the evidence, the witnesses, the whispers. But what haunted me most was the question of timing. Why now? Why strike when I was least prepared? Why strike when I ask for a divorce. The answer had to be buried in the past, in secrets I had overlooked. And if I could dig deep enough, maybe I'd uncover the one thread that could unravel her entire scheme.The cell felt colder tonight, as if the concrete itself conspired against me. I kept replaying Milani's smirk in my mind, the way she always seemed one step ahead, as though she had written the script and I was just acting it out. The guards thought I was broken, but they didn't see the storm building inside me. If Milani believed she could bury me under false charges and walk away untouched, she was wrong. Somewhere out there, the truth was waiting to be uncovered—and when I found it, her empire of lies would collapse around her.