Be Loved

Chapter 24

To my beloved daughter Tshegofatso

Happy 15th birthday. When I think about your age, I must admit that it makes me feel old. The other thing it does is make me realise how much I have lost by being in prison. It is sobering. But the thought of one day being with you gives me strength. I may not how you look now, how your voice sounds, your likes, and dislikes, etc. But you share mine and your mother's blood. Half of you is me. Half of you is her. So a part of me is living outside of these prison walls. So I find myself praying more for you than for myself. God must take whatever blessings he has in reserve for me, and give them to you rather. I want you to shine and be better than me. My lawyers say there is hope. They think I could get to be given parole and that this could be the last birthday letter I have to send to you from prison. I may be there with you on your sweet sixteen. What a thought! What a possibility. So I have given them your address and I hope they can find you and your grandparents so that we can start the process. I must admit, I am hopeful. I miss you, dear of you and still love you.

Lots of love

Your beloved dad.

The morning of the parole hearing finds Molatlhegi awake in his cell. He did not sleep. The last 24 hours affected him more than he thought it would. This hearing comes at the worst time for him. What should have been a morning filled with optimism has turned to one of mourning. He knows that he is walking into a hearing that will add more nails to his coffin. Warder Maluleke brings Molatlhegi his court hearing outfit.

"What's this Maluleke" asks Molatlhegi

"It's your formal clothes for court baba. You can't go in there looking like a prisoner. Your lawyer gave these clothes about a month ago. You need to change and I will escort you to the police van and they will take you to venue" explains Warder Maluleke.

Molatlhegi arrives at the parole hearing venue and notices that Pearl is there. She smiles as she sees him and he is unable to return it with a smile.

"Mo. I couldn't stay away. I'll officially quit when the job is done. You look good in a suit" comments Pearl. She could see that Molatlhegi was not himself but she wanted to help him change his mood.

"We both know that this will not end well. But, you deserve to be here. You worked hard. And listen, I don't blame you. I guess my curse is as strong as I kept saying. None of this surprises me" replies a solemn Molatlhegi. Pearl doesn't know how to respond to that, and instead walks to her chair and takes out her laptop to prepare for the hearing.

The prosecutor walks into the room with Tshegofatso's grandparents. Tshegofatso is not with them. The parole hearing starts with the prosecutors explaining that they believe Molatlhegi needs to complete his sentence, as this would send the correct message to society about the criminal justice system. Pearl challenges that notion, highlighting that Molatlhegi is accused of kidnapping his own child when he was the only parent left to raise his child. The prosecutor explains that the child in question was written a letter to the court, stating that she did not want to be in the same room as Molatlhegi. The parole committee chairperson asks for the letter to be read out loud. Nkgono Tshidi stands up and reads the letter written by Tshegofatso

"To the people in the parole committee, my name is Keeya Phiri. I am a 16 year old child, who has been raised by Samson and Matshidiso Phiri. They are my grandparents. They had to raise me because my mother had a complicated pregnancy and did not survive my birth. My father stole me in the middle of the night because my grandparents protected me from being raised by an irresponsible man like him. They knew that he did not want me when I was still in the womb. He paid for my mother to abort me and luckily my grandparents intervened. So you see, the kidnapping could have had a worse outcome if my father was not caught. How was he ever going to raise me to be 16 years old when he didn't even want me when I was a couple of weeks old in the womb? I have had opportunities to talk to him and engage with him. I found him to be a good liar, someone who can tell you what you want to hear. I beg the committee to not fall for his charm. My mother did and she died. I almost grew apart from the only family that loved me because of his lies. So as the victim in this case, I unequivocally state that Molatlhegi Molefe must not be released on parole. He must complete his sentence. Even when he completes it, he must stay far away from me. Thank you for taking my words seriously. I trust you will make a good decision. Regards Keeya Phiri."