It happened five years ago, during Covid. I’d come to Accra to help my aunt when this happened to me in the dead of dawn when everyone was sleeping.

My aunt’s husband’s brother had come from abroad and was living with us. He ought to have returned abroad, but because of Covid, he couldn’t travel. He was frustrated most of the time, but as a family, we all tried to keep each other happy. His name is King. In the night, when everyone was sleeping, we would be outside talking. When he wanted to go for a walk, he called, and I went with him.

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He was also married, and his wife was abroad. I enjoyed his company very much because he told me about life abroad and made me dream of going there. One evening, he asked if I wanted to travel abroad, and I said yes with this childlike glee. He responded, “No problem. When I finally return, I’ll work things out for you.”

After this conversation, he became touchy, something I never saw coming. I was uncomfortable, but I didn’t read meaning into it. One evening, while taking a walk, he put his hand around my waist and pulled me close. He said, “If you make this easy for me, I’ll take you abroad when Covid is over.”

I asked, “Make what easy?” He responded, “So you want to tell me you don’t know that I’m in love with you? Just once and your ticket abroad is assured.”

I said no. He persisted. I became careful around him. I stopped going on walks with him. I stopped everything that brought me close to him. He complained. He used different ways to lure me, but I didn’t give in.

So that dawn, when he was on top of me and struggling to get through, I knew the fault was mine. Knowing what I knew, I had no reason to leave my door unlocked when sleeping at night. Maybe I didn’t think he would go that far. He was begging me to open up, telling me he didn’t intend to take it by force. I told him I was in my menses. I promised I would allow him when my menses was over. I wasn’t lying about my menses. I was even experiencing wild cramps.

He didn’t listen. He didn’t stop until he got what he wanted from me. The pain was so severe I was crying. I wasn’t a virgin. I was twenty-five and had a boyfriend. I had experienced no such pain until that dawn. The night before his final departure, he came again, trying to take it with force. Luckily for me, I saw him entering, so I started speaking loudly and threatened to increase my voice if he tried anything silly.

He quickly walked out of my door, and the next morning, he was gone. I became paranoid. I suspected every man around me as a predator, even my aunt’s husband. Anytime he was nice to me, I suspected him. I slept with my door closed and the sofa pushed behind the door to make it more secure. I was even scared of my boyfriend and my own shadow.

Early this year, King called. He said he was coming to Ghana because of me. I shouted at him and threatened to report him to the police if he dared to come. His voice was calm, almost reflective. He said, “I’m coming with an apology for what happened when I was in Ghana. A lot has happened, but I’ve been advised to see you first, so kindly make it easy for me.”

In February 2025, he came to where I am now with my aunt’s husband and another elderly woman he said was a family member. Immediately he saw me, he fell to the ground and started apologizing and even crying. I was like, “What kind of drama is this?”

He had confessed his sins to his family because after raping me, his life took a bad turn. He lost his job, got arrested and put in a cell, and was nearly deported. His wife had suffered three miscarriages, and he himself had had an accident that kept him in the hospital for three weeks. He spoke to a pastor in Ghana, and the pastor revealed to him that he was suffering all that because he took it by force when I was also in my menses. His coming to Ghana was the pastor’s direction.

They came with perfumes, dresses, and a lot of things I didn’t need. They gave me GHC40,000 and also asked what I wanted as the ultimate compensation.

The whole thing was overwhelming. Apart from going through the pain and becoming paranoid for a while, I was fine. I dusted off my shoulder and picked myself up. I hated him, but not to the extent of causing him everything he had gone through. I told them, “I don’t need anything else from him. Even these things, I wish you said they were a gift rather than saying I had to accept them for cleansing purposes.”

Three Months After Our Breakup, He Got Married

When he got back, he called. He thanked me, telling me his pastor said I had a good heart, so his sins were forgiven. Months later, he called, telling me he had started seeing signs of good things. I told him it was okay and that he didn’t need to call me again.

I haven’t heard from him since, and I’m here hoping his life has turned around, especially for his wife. That woman didn’t do anything wrong to go through what she went through.

—Golden

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