30/05/2026
7 years ago on this 29th day of May 2019, I woke up as usual as early as 04:30 to prepare to go for morning glory prayers at a church where my friend used to congregate from in Chalala, after having opened the door the previous night for my son to enter the house and we said our good nights and went to bed.
I noticed though, that he was looking a little low and I thought it was probably because he had called me to open the door for him, saying the maid and his young sister, my last born daughter were not picking up their phones, so I thought that may have annoyed him.
I was at church by 05hrs. We prayed and worshipped as I prayed for my family and everyone that is attached to me as usual. I prayed for God's protection upon my children and my grandchildren and everyone that's attached to me and more prayers to the end.
I got back home and prepared to go pick up my friend so we could go to the site where we had a contract for land scaping that was almost done but at a stage of now putting pavers.
After picking up my business partner, friend, I felt something that didnt feel right and I told her that I didn't feel like going to work. She asked me why I could not figure out exactly what the problem was, but I felt like something was not okay with my son. So she asked me to park the vehicle by the side of the road and we held our hands together and started praying for him.
This had become our routine for about a month then. I kept having bad feelings about my son and we would stop by the roadside, held hands together and prayed for him just like that then proceed with our work. But on that fateful day, I insisted that I would not go to work but instead we needed to go and buy a laptop for him.
She agreed to my suggestion and we moved from one Mall to another looking for the type he had requested for but only found it eventually in a small shop called Shalom at town centre in town near Farmers Barn, or Limbada.
It was at this point that I had just purchased the laptop for my son and was at the door of that shop making my exit step when I received the call that has changed my life forever.
My 2nd born daughter called me saying I must rush to the hospital. I asked why, she just screamed, YOUR SON. I asked what about my son? She just said "mum, hurry up, where are you?" I guess they had wanted to rush him to the hospital before I arrived.
I was in the middle of town at midday in midday traffic and she's telling me to hurry up without giving me the reason why. I decided to call her again and asked which hospital to go to, that's when she broke the news and said, mum just come home, Jay is dead😥😰🫢.
My friend couldn't drive, I've just received a message about my son whom I assumedly left home still sleeping, after issuing instructions to the maid to make sure she washed all his clothes when he woke up and hand him his own house keys so that he didn't have to wait at the gate when he arrived late at night.
It was at that point around 14hrs when the maid noticed that the boy had not come out of his bedroom since morning, that she decided to open the door thinking may be, he could have left the house without her knowledge, that she discovered the horror that has haunted my life till this day.
My son was found hanging on a shoe string in the wardrobe ..... ..... ...... ......
One can only imagine how I drove from town to chalala in the traffic ignoring traffic instructions, in some instances even driving on the oncoming traffic side of the road till I arrived home only to find my son lying lifelessly on the floor of his bedroom. You can only imagine the rest....... 😭
This day has changed my way of life, my body, my line of thinking and many things in my life. Many people who are close to me will testify.
My only son, taken away from me at a very tender age of 25 😢 😭. He would have been 32 yrs old today and would have also been married and would have had children of his own just like many of his friends.
It still hurts. God🤦♀️🤦♀️, it still hurts 😢 😭 😪 😞 😔💔 😢 😭 .
But our God is the one that giveth and the one that taketh, Job 1:21. He gave and He took His own, I have no right to question Him.
Lord, I just want to thank You, for the time You allowed us to share with my son. All the memories, good and bad are what keep us going. We cherish them. Though, I would have loved him to still be around.
Rest easy my boy, my one and only😭. Till we meet again.
Love you even in death sonny boy ❤️ 💖 ❣️ 💕
Written by Claudette Malumba
