Mzulungile Nocuze’s life has been challenging, but he never gives up.
Now 65, he was only in his twenties when he was burnt badly by an exploding gas cylinder. The damage was horrific, and both the community and his wife rejected him.
“After the incident, my wife told me that she could not continue being my wife because I was not the man she married. I looked like a monster, and she could not share a bed with me.
“My wife’s rejection was a start. People joined in by giving me ill-treatment, and the kids were scared of me, so I decided to go and stay alone in the bushes.”
But a year later, he met his soulmate, Busiswa. “When I saw her, it was love at first sight, but I was scared of approaching her fearing rejection as people treated me differently.”
Busiswa accepted him, and told him that she loved him.
“I owe my life to her,” he said. “She showed me love and brought my self-esteem back. If it wasn’t for her, maybe I could’ve died.”
The couple, who were married in 1984 and live in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, are blessed with three beautiful children.
“I want to encourage disabled people never to lose hope; they must know that someone out there loves them as they are,” Mzulungile said.
But he doesn’t understand how older people mock him. “Kids will always be kids, but I fail to understand older people who mock me. Some didn’t want to share a glass of water with me thinking that maybe they would end up looking like me.”
Busiswa Nocuze loves her husband and said she would choose him again. “I do not care what people say about him; he is my husband. I love him.”
When people ask her why she chose a burnt, scary-looking man, she always says, “I love him. He is a human being who deserves to be loved just like everybody.”
The only thing that she hates is how their kids fight with other kids to protect their father.
“My children love their father and do not understand how other kids make fun of him. They always fight for him.”
Her plea to parents is to teach their kids respect. “Kids need to understand that they will meet different people. They need to show respect.”
Pictured above: Mzulungile Nocuze and his wife Busiswa Nocuze
Image Credit: Buziwe Nocuze
