Incest: A sexual abberation

WE ARE living in a complex and highly sophisticated society in which sexual intercourse is often taken for
granted not only among individuals unknown to each other, but even between family members and close relatives. Incest is such a bizarre and disgusting act that it has actually roused the rebuff of the majority of the public. Yet each day, we hear several cases of this ugly act here and there. It becomes even more worrisome that recently, this dirty union of blood relatives termed ‛Genetic sexual attraction' is now everyday on the increase and is being seen, heard and read on television, grapevine, newspapers, magazines and internet.
  There have been several cases of children from broken polygamous homes who unfortunately got married to their siblings in far away countries only to discover their blood relationship on arrival to their home countries. Some cases were so bad that the couples had already consummated their marriages and others with one to three kids before their real identity was discovered. This becomes even pardonable realising that, such union came to be as a result of lack of adequate information about the couple's identity.
  Although some go into this dirty act with the full knowledge of their blood tie as was the case of Chioma (surname withheld), who got into a very intimate relationship with her cousin Onyeka.
  When the relationship began, their parents never suspected anything ugly as Chioma and Onyeka; her cousin would always separate themselves from the rest whenever either family visited the other. It was taken for granted that they were age mates.
  “Moreover, Onyeka just got admission into the university and Chioma was in her S.S 2 preparing for her WAEC. I took it that Onyeka was helping Chioma prepare for her forthcoming exam” the mother said.
  Not until Chioma became pregnant did the parents got to know that the relationship between their children was far from being academic but sexual. Chioma is now forced to drop out of school in order to have her baby as her parents insisted that she must carry the pregnancy and the shame until delivery or face the wrath of being disowned; if she dares terminate the pregnancy. Onyeka has been on the wide and this shameful act by Chioma and Onyeka has strained the relationship between the two families.
  This shameful act among teenagers becomes even pardonable when compared to such sexual relationship existing between a father and his own daughter or a mother and her own son.
  Such relationship between 40years old Betty Mbereko and her 23years old  son Farai Mbereko from Mwenezi in Masvingo, Zimbabwe which came to lime light two years ago is one of such bizarre and ugly act.
  Betty, who had been a widow for 12years before that ugly union was made public, claimed that having single-handedly trained Farai after the death of her husband, she is entitled to his wealth and no other woman has. Moreover, she decided to “marry” her son because she does not want to marry her late husband's younger brothers whom she said were coveting her. By the time this union was publicised, Betty was six months pregnant for her son Farai and Farai also went to the village court council to legalize the union. He also said he was ready to marry his mother and pay off the ilobola (bride price) balance his father had left unpaid to his grandfather.
  Another of such was the one that happened some months ago in Lagos. A woman who wishes her name not to be in print narrated how her husband slept with her three daughters. She got to know after he slept with the last daughter who couldn't hide it from her mother. ‟She said during their long vacation, my husband (their father) always came back from work at odd hours after I had left for my daily sales in the market and warned them never to open up to anyone. It was after my last daughter opened up to me that the other two picked up the courage to let the cat out of the bag. I was shocked and never believed my husband was such a beast” she said.
  When asked of her plans for her children, ‟I have taken them down to the east and enrolled them in a boarding school owned and managed by Reverend Sisters. I also told the Reverend Sisters my story so that they can help my children heal their psychological trauma. I pleaded with them never to allow any visitor to come and see them. I will never go back to that beast of a husband as I have also relocated to the east in order to be close to my children” she added.
  Recently also, Oyo State Police Command arrested a man who allegedly defiled his two under-aged biological daughters and two of his nieces, all between 14 and 17 years.
  This crime was allegedly committed at Moniya in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state, by Tajudeen Awoniyi, a herbalist although he denied the allegation. However, the confessions of the four girls took many people at the state police headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan by surprise as they narrated how the father had sex with them at different times.
  It was gathered that the accused person had carnal knowledge of his own daughters whenever he was drunk. The  Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammed Katsina, alleged that the suspect would give black soap to the other two nieces before having sexual intercourse with them one after the other.
  Narrating the incident, one of the daughters said “My father has been sleeping with me since last year. Whenever he comes home drunk, he sleeps with me and my sister (names withheld). He had slept with me three times now since last year.”
  Narrating her own story, one of the victims (names withheld), said: “My sister and I are the nieces to Tajudeen Awoniyi.
  “His daughters came to our house and asked us to follow them to their place. On getting there, her father told us he would give us soap by midnight which we must use to bathe.
 “Around 1a.m., he woke me up, gave me a black soap and asked me to go and take my bath. After taking my bath, I went to him and he placed something under his tongue and asked me to sleep on a bench.
  “He had sex with me. Afterwards, I was bleeding and he asked me to go to bed. By morning, he sent my sister and me out of his house.”
  The sister, who is about 16 years old, confirmed the story, saying “after taking my bath at night, he tied my mouth with cloth so that people would not hear me when I cried. He had sex with me afterwards and by morning he sent me out of his house.”
The suspect's sister whose daughters were raped by Tajudeen said:
  “When I came back from where I travelled to, I did not meet my daughters at home. So I asked the people around and I was told that my brother's children came to my house and my daughters went out together with them.
  “I said they could not have slept in my brother's place because it has been a while I saw him. The next day as I was about to pray around 6:30a.m., my brother showed up.
  “I was scared because I usually get scared when I see him since the day he threatened my mother with cutlass to release his children for him when they were still little.
  “So he told me that my daughters slept in his place and he had asked them to go back the next day. It was not until the third day that I saw my daughters. Someone staying around brought them home.
  “One of them was holding her tummy. I later took them to the hospital where we found out about the incident and I had to call the police.”
  The victims, who dared their father and told the police the whole story, further explained that they were initially scared and kept sealed lips for fear of being beaten by Tajudeen.
  It is unfortunate that this beastly act has continued to increase in our society. Perpetrators of this beastly act, when discovered and investigated should be severely dealt with so as to serve as a deterrent to others. While persons who consciously engage in such unions should be made to understand how bad such incestuous act is and if possible be handed over to psychologist for a psychological help.