Human Interest/Society

Man reunites with family after 18 years of ‘hostage marriage’ in Yaounde

 
Konyui Henry, a man in his 40s, has reunited with his family in Nso, Bui Division of Cameroon’s North West Region, after 18 years of what he described as a hostage marriage.

He went missing at the age of 22, and nobody knew his whereabouts until recently when he was found in a small village in Yaounde.

Henry, now in his forties, has spent about 18 years in a “slave” marriage.

He told Walters, the man who found him, that the woman, with whom they allegedly have four kids, took him hostage.

Walters said the aging woman appears to be far older than Konyui Henry. In the 18 years of matrimony, Henry said his duties were to wash clothes, split wood, fetch water, and take care of the woman’s children.

Henry hails from a village called Vijam Quarter in Nkar, Nso. When MMI first reported about his willingness to return home after 18 years, the Nkar Village Development Association in Yaounde immediately dispatched a search team. 

“From Mbanjock, we took a bike and ran 40 km inside a sugarcane plantation (Socusam). Then we entered thick forests and ran 10km before we arrived at the small village. No light, no network,” said the President of the Nkar Village Development Association.

When Henry went missing, his family and his village association were instead searching for him in Loum, Littoral Region, until his distress call lately.

When he was released from his “marital duties,”  his sister came from Douala, and together with the association, he was taken to Nkar in Bui Division, where he is now fully reunited with the rest of his family.

Many have been expressing their joy at the happy ending to what has been a fascinating story.
 

Mimi Mefo Info

Njong Shey

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