When Mbali Lekhuleni was just 16 years old, she shot and killed her rapist. The Joyous Celebration singer gave account of the traumatic incident and how it affected her over the years.
Visiting her relatives in Vosloorus during the December holidays was a tradition that became a standard for Mbali and her family, but one night when her aunt left the care of a house to her “brother,” everything went south when they decided to go to a popular park.
When she started getting chilly, her acquaintance accompanied her to get a jersey, but their journey back to the park was interrupted by an armed paedophile who saw Mbali as his second victim for the night.
“He took me to someone’s yard. We jumped over a fence. He took off his jacket and jeans and told me to come. That was my first time. My virginity was just broken in that violent way. He told me to lie down and he did that. He raped me,” she said during her sit-down on The UnChristian Network.
Mbali recalled the perpetrator alluding to taking her to a different place, pointing a gun at her while smoking.
Mbali says she pleaded with him to put the gun aside.
“He tossed the gun aside when I asked him. Then he raped me again, but when he stood up he looked in the opposite direction. Then I saw an opportunity, since he stood up and looked in another direction. Let me get up and run to that gun.
“I held the gun, and when he looked back he found me holding the gun. When he tried to approach me, I just pulled the trigger. Imagine, I am 16, I don’t know how to use a gun. That gun was prepared. The only thing I did was pull the trigger. It fired and shot him. Then he came to me trying to fight while I was still holding the gun. I fired again. Then he fell, he fell on top of me. I could literally feel his last breath on me. He died on top of me.”
Mbali Lekhuleni sought help from relatives and at the police station where they discovered the perpetrator had allegedly raped another young lady on the same night. She said she was exonerated of murder because it was self-defense.
“I was numb for a week after that incident.”
Earlier this year, Mbali launched the Rising Above the Ordeal Foundation dedicated to help rape survivors.
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“What inspired me to to start this foundation is my incident. There was no-one — no family, friends, or church were there for me. I had to pick up the pieces myself. And I had to do that all on my own, as young as I was,”
She further encouraged rape victims to always speak up and seek help,
“You are not your scars and your future will not be determined by your ordeal. Report the perpetrator to the police and seek counselling.” Mbali Lekhuleni said.
