Doreen Mokgolo
When domestic worker Brenda Makamba finally found a job in 2019, she thought that her days of poverty were over – but she didn’t know she was stepping into a nightmare.
The woman, originally from Zimbabwe, said during the two years of working for an Arabic family as a sleep-in-helper in Silverlakes, Tshwane, she was paid low wages, worked long hours, had no leave and was denied access to the outside world. She was also raped and sexually violated.
Brenda told Scrolla.Africa that on many occasions the wife, who can’t speak English, would call her to the bedroom and demand that she massage her thighs and private area with oil until she climaxed.
“In the beginning, I was shocked and refused but she threatened to fire me,” said Brenda.
“I had to build up the courage to do as I was told because I was scared for my life and needed the job to financially support my five children back home.”
One night, while Brenda was cleaning before she went to her room, the husband walked in naked and grabbed her from behind.
“He told me not to scream and then he raped me,” she said.
“The following day he gave me R500 and said I was not to tell my husband because he doesn’t want problems.”
Brenda confided in her friend, who is in Cape Town, and the friend told her to collect evidence before reporting the case to the police.
“I didn’t know how to go about this because I was not allowed to bring my cellphone in the main house and I was not allowed to leave home.”
She added that she was forced to take care of eight children, clean the house, wash and iron for R2,000, which was increased to R3,000 this year.
When she inquired about the working conditions her former employer invited a relative, who is fluent in English, to speak to her.
“She told me that the family is angry that I have friends who are putting ideas in my head and if I no longer want to work I should leave,” she said.
Brenda said she was allowed to go to church on 21 June this year.
This was the first time since she started working for the family in 2019 that she was allowed outside, but when she came back she found her personal belongings at the access controlled gate with the security guard.
“The guard told me that the family told him they were moving back to their home country.”
When asked for comment, the employer said he doesn’t want to entertain the matter and will wait to hear from the police.
