While I was in the hospital giving birth to his child, he was at home sleeping with my daughter

Lydia Simiyu was raised by her grandmother after her mother abandoned her at just six months old. When Lydia was seven, her grandmother would leave her at her uncle’s house whenever she traveled. It was there that Lydia’s cousin began to assault her—pretending to bathe her, but in the bathroom, she would violate her. Lydia was threatened not to tell anyone. When her grandmother returned, Lydia went back home. But one of her uncles chased her away, telling her to go look for her mother. Lydia packed her clothes and began the search. For two weeks, she slept on the streets until kind strangers helped her locate her mother. At her mother’s house, Lydia met her stepfather, who later began to assault her too. When she told her mother, she was beaten so badly that she ran away. Before leaving, she had met a man who promised to take her to school—but instead, he slept with her and she became pregnant. After giving birth, life was extremely difficult. She and her child were eating from the streets. Then came another betrayal—her cousin slept with her baby’s father and became pregnant. In their culture, this is considered taboo, and it’s believed that when such a thing happens, the child may not survive. Tragically, that’s what happened. Later, Lydia met another Bukusu man who gave her omena and ugali. After she ate, he demanded that she pay for the food by sleeping with him—while her child was present. Another man came to her house and promised to marry her. At first, Lydia trusted him because he gave her food. But he turned out to be the worst. He would sleep with her even while she was breastfeeding. Eventually, Lydia became pregnant again. When she went into labor, she left her child with the man. He assaulted the child under the excuse of bathing them. One day, a neighbor warned Lydia that something was happening in her house and urged her to check on her daughter. She later became pregnant again, but the man gave her money and instructed her to abort. She bought medicine and carried out the abortion under his direction. He was not a righteous man—he would take her underwear and use it for witchcraft. One day, Lydia caught him in the act, and he ran away with her panty. During a deliverance session, she was told that her husband had been performing rituals using her innerwear. Listen to Lydia’s story as she shares how her own husband has caused her suffering to this day.