Tiwonge's behaviour has always amazed us—Uncle

· He’s been bewitched—Sister


BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR


The gay couple currently in police custody made history last Saturday when they held an engagement ceremony preceding the actual wedding of their ‘holy’ marriage.


The ceremony, which took place at Mankhoma Lodge in Blantyre, attracted a considerable number of patrons who could neither believe what was happening nor make out what Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steve Monjeza were up to.


According to Sections 153 and 156 of the penal code, homosexuality is illegal in Malawi and anyone convicted of the offence may be jailed for five or 14 years, respectively, with or without corporal punishment.


As such, Malawians could not understand where Chimbalanga, the bride, and Monjeza [the groom] got the courage to declare in public their orientation towards fellow men. Actually, other rumourmongers hinted that the two had been sent to “test the waters”.


Some people went as far as insinuating that Tiwonge is hermaphrodite (a condition where a person has both sexual organs).


But The Sunday Times investigations on Thursday revealed that the bride whose real name is Stoneck Kachepa and hails from Chimbalanga Village, Traditional Authority Thomas in Thyolo has a male sexual organ only.


In an exclusive interview, Village Headman Chimbalanga who is also an uncle said Stoneck was born a man, but with some female features such as voice and movements.


Chimbalanga explained that his nephew has been behaving like a woman right from his tender age.


“His behaviour has always amazed us. He never felt comfortable among fellow men and he used to wear wrappers (zitenje) as if he is a woman,” said the traditional leader.


Stoneck, a fourth born son in a family of six, lived with the uncle from childhood after the death of his both parents. Chimbalanga said he knew his nephew to be a village entertainer.


“He likes joking. But he does not want to be among men,” Chimbalanga added.


When he reached 14, Stoneck started menstruating as a woman, a development that surprised family members. This was soon after returning from circumcision.


People accused the chief of bewitching his nephew. This annoyed Chimbalanga who later threw Stoneck out of his family.


“Later, I was told Stoneck had gone to Blantyre where Mrs. Vaida Kalua employed him as a houseboy,” said Chimbalanga.


Stoneck’s grief-stricken blood sister, Mai Kamoto explained that their relation has been menstruating and he has been in that condition since then. Although Kamoto has been sick for three weeks and was bedridden when The Sunday Times crew visited her home Thursday, she spared some minutes to narrate the ‘horrors that their relation has gone through’.


“I just don’t know what is happening in our family. He is the only educated person in our family, but what can we expect from him now? Prison is not a place to live; that is graveyard,” said Kamoto as she broke into tears.


“Maybe it is a curse from God. How can a man be menstruating every month as if he is a woman. He has never proposed love to girls. He has always lived as a woman. Our brother is really bewitched,” she added.


Kamoto disclosed that Stoneck had been to a number of traditional doctors across the country, the last being a witchdoctor from Rumphi because the family believed he had been bewitched.


But one of the country’s gynaecologist and a lecturer at College Of Medicine Dr. Joyce Munthali said it is possible for a man to menstruate like a man and that the condition has nothing to do with witchcraft.


In a telephone interview on Friday, Dr. Munthali said such incidents occur when “female hormones are higher than the male ones”.


“It can happen, but it’s unusual,” said Dr. Munthali.


“What you need to know is that every man is a woman and vice versa. However, what matters is the levels of female or male hormones in a person,” she added.


But Dr. Munthali refused to be conclusive on what could be the cause of the condition in which Stoneck is stressing that that can only be done if the affected person sought medical help.


“I can only say that after checking his hormone levels. We’ve to do some tests to determine female hormones in him because he [Stoneck] could be functioning as a man, but high female hormones,” she said further advising such men to seek medical help and not traditional herbs.


Asked if such men can date and be able to bear children, Dr. Munthali explained that sexual urge for such people remains intact although sometimes they may experience some disorders.


But Dr. Lumbani Munthali of Karonga Prevention Study said ‘Tiwonge’s’ menstruation could be a symptom of cancer in urinary bladder, genital areas or trauma resulting from injury in his genital parts.


Both doctors recommended that the patient needs to seek medical attention to determine the cause of his problems.


Although Stoneck’s brother Jairos Kachepa looked equally concerned and could be seen wiping tears from his eyes during the whole interview time, he had no kind words for him relation.


“How could he spend K18,000 on engagement to a fellow man when we desperately need such money to buy farm inputs? We are orphans and since he is the only educated in our family, we thought he could be a source of solace for us now,” said Kachepa in utter-disappointment.


While Kamoto expressed desire to visit Stoneck in prison, Kachepa and Chimbalanga said they would not do.


Kachepa said their brother was an embarrassment to the roayal family while the uncle excused himself saying “as a village headman, I am very busy attending to tree planting exercise and family disputes”.


END