Daily Sun (June 24 2014) - WHEN her husband died, tradition dictated that Bonisiwe should marry the dead man's brother. For 15 years the unhappy woman found herself trapped in a loveless marriage - but worse was yet to come.
SHE BEGGED TO BE RELEASED . . . BUT SHE WAS HACKED TO DEATH INSTEAD.
Last Thursday, when Bonisiwe Vilane (45) of Manabe in Jozini in the far north of KZN confessed to her husband, Amos (52), that she had once again found real love, he flew into a rage and hacked her to death with a bush knife. Hours later Amos was also dead.
He had hanged himself. In 1994, when Bonisiwe was 20, she married Sipho Vilane, the man she loved. They had three children together, but only a few years later, in 1999, Sipho (38) died. And Bonisiwe's life changed. According to Zulu tradition, Bonisiwe had to marry her husband's brother. Bonisiwe's brother, Wiseman Mthembu (35), said that his sister's in-laws forced her to get married to Amos.
"In this village it is a shame for a woman to be alone after her husband dies, so my sister complied with everything the in-laws had planned for her," said Wiseman. He said she was lonely and unhappy and got into a relationship with a man from the area.
"When she told Amos that she was in love with someone else and wanted to get out of her marriage, Amos got angry and killed her with a bush knife, then he hanged himself," said Wiseman. He said they were told Bonisiwe screamed for help, but neighbours said they were too scared to go to her aid. Amos' brother, Bheki Vilane (47), said their family strongly believed in tradition. "We will not allow any widows in our family," he said.
"If the husband dies, the wife has to marry one of the husband's brothers or a relative. We do this to protect the family's dignity and to keep with tradition. We do not want the wife to feel that she is a widow." But Bheki also condemned his brother's actions. "She was forced to obey our custom because we cannot be told by the wives what to do, but my brother should not have done what he did," said Bheki. SAPS spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said an inquest docket and murder case were opened and no arrests had been made.
Traditionalist and cultural expert Ndabenhle Myeza said the custom of getting married to a late husband's brother was an outdated tradition. He said it had been peacefully arranged to protect the widow from men who might take advantage of her and her inheritance. "But it was always up to the widow, whether she was interested or not. What Bonisiwe's in-laws did was completely unacceptable," he said.
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