How Could You Leave Me With Nothing? She Screamed — But What Happened Next Made Everyone in Our Village Shocked and Speechless
My name is Atieno Auma, and until last year, I was just another invisible woman in Mawere Village, Busia County. A place where everyone knows your name, your parents, and even the mistakes you made as a child. I was married to Ochieng, a fisherman and small trader everyone respected. When he was alive, people greeted me with smiles. When he died suddenly one cold evening, those smiles disappeared. What remained was silence, whispers, and hands ready to grab what little we owned.
Ochieng’s burial was big. Elders spoke of unity, neighbors cried, and his brothers promised to “stand with me.” But the moment the grave was covered with soil, the truth emerged. His fishing nets were taken. The small piece of land we farmed was “reclaimed” by his clan. Even the iron sheets from our kitchen were removed one afternoon when I was at the market. When I asked why, they said, “A woman owns nothing here.” I swallowed my pain because I had two children watching me, depending on me.
The day everything broke inside me came on a Tuesday morning. A boda boda rider handed me a brown envelope and asked me to sign. Inside were documents claiming that before his death, my husband had transferred everything to someone else. I screamed so loudly that neighbors rushed in. “How could you leave me with nothing?” I cried, tearing my blouse in pain. People stared, some pitying me, others secretly pleased. That night, I slept on the floor, shaking, wondering if death was kinder than this life.
