The Death of the Cover-Up
“Findings of the found.”
“How could you get caught! Do you realise that both of our livelihoods are at risk right now? And why haven’t I been able to reach you?” shouted Ajax’s dad through his car speakers.
“Dad, I think Zanele still has my second phone...”
“Great, just great! You need to get that phone back immediately and we need to plan our defence for the court case, did you delete all of your chats with the group?”
“No, but the chats are encrypted in a text app...she won’t even know to look.”
“Fucksakes sonny...you’ve really done it this time.”
“They won’t turn on me though dad. All the members are closely knit...”
“You idiot! You just told me that you guys left one of your members in the hands of criminals yesterday! They only care about their own asses just like you, they’ll cut a deal to sell you out the minute they get the chance,” croaked Ajax’s father.
Ayanda ignored his father’s statement, having not yet told him that the person they had left behind was Lwazi.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal...I thought I was only showing her a good time!!” shouted Ajax in fear.
“And that had to be that Professor’s daughter? Dammit man...have you told your brother yet?”
“No...”
“Good! He has better things to worry about!” Ajax began sobbing.
“I’m sorry dad...”
“Are you kidding me? You have the balls to rape that girl now you’re crying? Get a grip man...the lawyer will contact you soon. But I want you to know that you’re a disappointment sonny, this is coming back on the whole fucking family. God have mercy on us all!” said his father before he hung up.
“Dad! Dad?!” shouted Ajax as he hit his steering wheel while speeding down the freeway.
Tears began to form as he placed his foot down on the accelerator and kept his eyes fixed on the speedometer.
120...140...160...180...200km/h.
Being inches away from death but never taking the leap. That was the go-to drug for a man that felt held down by his problems.
‘What’s dad so worried about?’ wondered Ajax as he dialled Zanele’s number from the screen on his car and waited for her to pick up to no avail.
Deciding to give up, he settled for leaving a voice message instead.
“Listen, Z, I need my phone back, let me know when you’ll be on campus,” said Ajax irritably as he hit the brakes to slow himself down.
But nothing happened.
Ajax blinked rapidly, arrogance disappearing from his resolve as adrenaline began pumping through his body.
He pressed his foot on the brake, more expediently this time...expecting, begging the car to slow down.
But still, nothing happened.
“No!” he screamed as he realised what was unfolding before him.
“Dad!” shouted Ajax as he felt himself losing control over the vehicle while desperately trying to dial his father.
The young man swerved to avoid the car in front of him nearly rear-ending it in the process, but found himself in the opposite lane as a result. Sweat flooding up his palms, he pulled himself back into his lane once he had passed a few cars, narrowly missing a head-on collision.
He caught his breath for only a brief second before realising that his luck was up. Ajax was fast approaching a truck and there was too much traffic for another swerve.
"This can't happen! I refuse to die!" shouted Ajax psychotically before he drove nose-first into the truck in front of him, causing a series of accidents to unfold.
Hooters sounded and emergency numbers were dialled soon after the seemingly unfortunate and fortuitous event.
However, contrary to the custom of South African response teams, (that being the police and ambulance) help was readily on its way within record time, suspiciously concerned with Ajax’s health above everyone else’s, but making sure to dispatch additional vehicles to the other wounded victims so as to not attract too much suspicion.
Within no time, news crews and cameramen were seen rushing towards the large accident scene on the Port Elizabeth highway, as was the case for any small town. Even small news was big news in the city but this was unusual news.
“Why do you think he just drove into the back of the truck like that?” questioned a curious reporter.
“I don’t know, probably drunk?” answered one of the commuters that had seen the accident from afar.
“At 10 o’clock in the morning...on a Wednesday?” she asked.
“I don’t know, I’m just thankful to God that I didn’t get caught up in it...” said the shaken up driver as he walked back to his vehicle, still unable to get around the large traffic jam that had formed in the middle of the highway.
The reporter squinted her eyes at the scene and decided to keep her more inquiring questions to herself as she called her camera guy and tried to run after one of the ambulances to catch a few shots of some of the victims that were harmed.
"Somethings fishy here, Scott..." said Priscilla as her cameraman took some photographs of victims being loaded into ambulances.
“That’s what you say when high school oratory competitions start 30 minutes early...”
“I know, but this time...I feel like this is the beginning of something...”
“Let’s go...I just want to get this over with, I promised Thandi we would meet up and discuss the case today,” said Z as she threw her handbag in the back seat before climbing out of the car.
“Sure, but this won’t be a walk in the park, you’ve been missing gym a lot lately...” said Khanya as they made their way towards the varsity’s illustrious health club.
“I’m running to be the first female SRC President, plus I’m a master student, Khanya,” said Zanele, defending herself.
“Which is exactly why you need to be training...this is about your longevity,” pointed out Khanya as they walked into the gym and strolled towards the squat rack.
After effectively warming up on some lightweight, they soon found themselves in the middle of their set tearing it up, with Khanya (who was in excellent shape) providing some much- needed motivation.
“Come on! Harder!”
“What?”
“Push through it, go hard!” shouted Khanya.
“I’m sorry, Khanya, I’m just not in the mood to train my head off today, I’ve barely slept. I was being serious when I said I was looking to take it easy...you know? Get my mind off of things...” said Zanele as she put down the bar on the squat rack. Z worked hard to catch her breath, remaining hunched over for a minute or two. When she had slightly recovered, she picked up her phone and towel from the floor, wiping her brow as she saw Ajax’s missed calls. She sighed and rolled her eyes before ignoring his voicemail, placing her phone back down in annoyance.
Khanya read the situation and pursed her lips.
“Let me just go get us some water then...” she said before she took Z’s water bottle and left.
‘I wonder if things will ever go back to normal?’ Khanya wondered as she began to fill up the two gigantic water bottles she was carrying.
All of a sudden, she heard someone clearing their throat behind her. Khanya closed her eyes in vexation and shook her head.
“Uhm...he-hey...” greeted a shaky voice she had heard way too often.
Khanya looked irritated already. “Sivu. What do you want?”
“Only the usual; a greeting, a hug, your number...your hand in marriage...” joked Sivu with a creepy smile.
“First of all no. And secondly...never,” said Khanya with finality as she tried to ignore him.
“Those tights look real good on you, like seriously, you should wear them more often,” said Sivu, still maintaining his smile.
Khanya remained quiet as Sivu continued to ogle her features as she stood by the water dispenser. Eventually, she felt too uncomfortable to remain in his presence, so she cut the filling of her water bottle short and decided to storm off.
“What’s your problem na wena? All I do is try with you!” said Sivu as he aggressively grabbed Khanya’s arm.
Khanya looked at his hand, gripped around her arm and back at him again.
“Are you crazy? Let go of me!” she shouted, causing a scene in the gym.
“What’s your problem?!”
“My problem?!” asked Khanya assertively before dropping Zanele’s water bottle and slapping Sivu senseless.
“You bitch! You’ll pay for that!” threatened Sivu as he held onto his burning cheek and walked away amidst the snickers and stares he was receiving for his public rejection.
Khanya looked at the mark he had left on her arm and furrowed her eyebrows, feeling shaken by his threat. Slightly stricken with fear, Khanya walked over to a Z that was unusually distracted by her phone.
“Girl...you won’t believe what just happened! It’s like these men weren’t listening to your interview last week!” said Khanya.
Zanele however, could only lift her head to ignore her friend’s comment and gesture towards the TV everyone in the gym had begun gathering under.
Breaking news! A terrible crash has happened on the PE main freeway, involving many vehicles. It has just been reported that the crash was started by Ayanda Khaya, the spokesman of the FMU SRC, when his vehicle supposedly lost control. Ayanda was immediately rushed to the local private hospital and is in critical condition. Emergency services are sceptical that the young man will survive, with the other victims sustaining massive injuries but luckily, no fatalities have been reported...
People in the gym gasped upon hearing the news. “Damn. I wonder if Asa is seeing this...” said Khanya. And just like that, a lightbulb lit up in Zanele’s mind.
Out of instinct, she went to her phone’s call log and listened to the voicemail Ajax had sent her.
Her eyes widened when she heard the impatience in his voice. “I still have Ajax’s phone...” whispered Zanele.
“What?” asked Khanya.
“Nothing, listen though man, we’re going to have to reschedule, I need to speak to my father about something,” said Zanele.
“Of course...let me know if you need anything, please,” said Khanya as she leaned in to give Zanele a hug.
With haste, Z raced out of the gym and dialled her father’s number on the way to her car.
“Dad, I need your connection at the police station...” said Zanele.
“May I ask why?”
“I might have enough evidence to convict Ajax and a few of his accomplices...it’s a long shot but it’s worth trying, he’s in hospital right now so he won’t be able to block anything we try to do, I mean his lawyers might still try but—”
“What do you mean he’s in his hospital, what happened?”
“He was in a car crash and he’s in ICU or something. Like I said it’s the perfect time to act.”
“Are you being serious? He’s fighting for his life and here you are trying to convict him, he might not even live...”
“Do you think Asa cares about whether or not he’s fighting for his life? You know, the innocent girl he raped? Death shouldn’t excuse him from being trialled...” said Zanele as she jumped in her car and switched the phone conversation with her father to Bluetooth.
“Sweetie...”
“No, that’s what’s wrong with you men...there’s always a way out for you but never for us...I’m thinking of Asa and Asa alone and possibly the other unknown hoards of victims Ajax has raped. Now, are you going to help me or not?” asked Zanele.
“Okay, I’ll call Stanley, hopefully he’s in the country. I’ll message you as soon as he confirms...” said her dad.
“Thank you, and please ask him if we can meet in an hour or so?” said Zanele.
“Done,” confirmed her father.
Zanele cut the call and immediately dialled Thandi’s number.
“Thandi! Can we head out to the police station in Walmer?” “Why? What’s up, I just saw the news...” said Thandi.
“I just spoke to my dad...I have Ajax’s phone, I was planning to give it back to him today but I think it can help us with the case. Can I come pick you up like now?” asked Zanele as she smiled at the message notification from her dad saying that Stanley was expecting them.
“Uhm, Ajax is most likely going to die, what’s having his phone going to do? You know how crappy our law system is, the procedures will be too slow to extract the necessary evidence. Our best bet is that he rots in Hell at this point,” said Thandi.
“Yes, but here on Earth, we want the whole world to know that he was guilty, to bring Asa peace and to help other victims come forward. I want to send a message, that even death won’t free you. And besides, the bastard might survive.”
“Okay, but you still haven’t told me what having his phone is supposed to do? The police won’t exactly help us lodge a case with that,” said Thandi with a healthy sense of scepticism.
"Just trust me, I have a feeling there's some evidence on his phone, and besides it's worth the long shot. My dad has a connection there that can help us view all of his data usage during the entire time he's owned that phone, nothing can be deleted. It's all in cyberspace..."
“Shit! So we’re not going through the normal processes of the shitty justice system?”
"Nope, we aren't. And neither is Asa. If we can get this locked down, we can do the same with the other victims that have come forward..." said Zanele. "Like I said, it's a long shot but..."
“How soon can you pick me up?” asked Thandi. “Give me 10 minutes...”
“Okay, but Asa is here...”
“Then she’s coming with...” said Zanele.
It wasn’t long before Zanele had stopped by Kings Terrace to pick up Asa and Thandi before racing towards Walmer with a determined sense of purpose.
After navigating through a reasonable amount of traffic, they finally arrived at the station. As soon as they walked through the doors, they were immediately sent to a private interrogation room where Z and Thandi divulged the details of what they were looking for to a highly qualified forensics officer.
“Okay, give me an hour or two. I’ll hack the phone and I’ll have everything that could possibly incriminate him...” said Stanley.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” said Zanele excitedly.
“Hey, I’ve known you ever since you could fit in my arms...and besides, your father has saved my butt on more than one occasion so when he calls, I answer...”
And with that, the officer left the room and silence took over between the three women, with Zanele and Thandi looking anxious to hear the news and Asa looking rather distant.
Exactly an hour later, Stanley walked in with a laptop and a grin on his face.
“Well, turns out I didn’t have to restore much data to convict the suspect in question, even though I did all of that as well...”
“What do you mean?” asked Thandi.
"Turns out, the suspect in question...or rather the SRC has their own encrypted private chat app where they discuss everything from choosing their victims to planning how to cover up the tracks...”
“What?” asked Z as she stood up to review the evidence on his laptop.
“No way!” added Thandi as she joined Zanele.
Asa remained seated and fixed her gaze down at her feet.
“Yep, they’ve been functioning like some sort of secret society. They were probably hoping it would remain secret, but now thanks to you, there it is...in all its horror.”
“We’re gonna bust their whole operation!” shouted Thandi, sounding visibly elated.
Zanele hugged Thandi and jumped for joy.
“We’re going to go national with this!” said Zanele. “Asa! Aren’t you happy?!” shouted Thandi.
But Asa kept her head down.
Sensing the atmosphere, Stanley cleared his throat.
“I’ll be outside if you need me, we’ll only move forward based on your guys’ approval,” he said before he slipped out of the room.
“What’s wrong?” asked Thandi as she knelt down beside her sister.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to take the stand and tell the world what he did to me! I don’t wanna relive that moment...” said Asa, with tears in her eyes.
“Listen, Asa, no one can force you to do anything you don’t want to do, but if you agree to do this, we’ll be able to add a convincing argument to throw them all away...for life. Not just for the mandatory sentences but for abusing their power and conspiring to make this an institutional practice. Then we can get the other victims listed on this chat to join you. Many have already come forward...” said Thandi.
“I don’t want to be seen as weak! It was my fault for going, I shouldn’t have gone, the judge will say—”
“Now you stop right there! None of this is your fault, you hear me? Not what you were wearing, not why you went, there’s absolutely nothing that justifies what that pig did to you. And if the judge does anything other than bang the gavel to send them all to jail after hearing your testimony, I’ll rip his or her throat out, you hear me?” assured Thandi.
Zanele kneeled on the other side of Asa and hugged her.
“I promise you now, you won’t be alone and by the time you’re done, you won’t ever have to speak about it again. But we must make them pay Asa...it’s no longer your word against his. We have irrefutable evidence now, so once this goes national your voice will join with others and we will change how men view us in this country! Violence against women will be something they fear to do...but we need your help, okay?”
Asa nodded her head and began crying incessantly.
“I was so scared! I never want to feel like that again!” she wailed.
“I swear on my life, no one will ever make you feel that way again!” promised Zanele as they comforted Asa.
“How can you promise that?” asked Asa.
“Because I’ll never stop fighting for it.”
“Because WE’LL never stop fighting for it,” corrected Thandi.
