GENDER-BASED violence is a serious issue in society and many women have fallen victim to it.
Tumi Kutumela, a transformational speaker for My Father’s Daughter Foundation and an author, is one of these victims.
She was raped by two men in December 2006 and is using her experience to help others heal and better their lives.
Sharing her ordeal with Daily Sun, Tumi from Hammaskraal, Tshwane, said two men kidnapped her in front of her home at about 9pm.
She said they drove to the bushes not far from Hammaskraal, where they raped her.
“I was raped at gunpoint and at some point, a knife was put to my throat.
“They raped me and left me in the bushes. I ran to the nearest plot for help,” she said.
Tumi said she doesn’t know the men who raped her and no one has been arrested for the incident to date.
“I am calling for harsh sentences for all rapists. I believe castration is the answer to deal with rapists,” she said.
Tumi published her book, My Father’s Daughter, in 2020.
She said the book talks about her journey, the rape and life after being raped.
Furthermore, the book also talks about her life, how it got changed and how she started living in fear.
“I tried to commit suicide twice in 2007 by taking many sleeping pills at once, and I wanted to jump off a building in Midrand,” she said.
She said that she still gets flashbacks and can still smell those men.
“I get the flashbacks whenever I see someone wearing the same T-shirt or jacket as those rapists. The pain is unbearable because nothing was done about my situation,” she said.
Tumi urged people to stop dictating how victims should deal with their traumatic experiences.
