A warning against the blessers

NOMPILO Gumede, a young woman from Pietermaritzburg, has published a book with a stern and empowering message to her peers to “stay away” from blessers and sugar daddies.

The 21-year-old BSc psychology student has packed her warnings about the dangers of dating rich older men into her newly published book, The Demon’s Wife.

The book tells the story of Mahlori Mathebula, who goes to Durban to further her studies and then returns home to Limpopo to rescue her family from the grip of poverty.

The character discovers the finer things in life that only money can buy.

“With newly found friends who have been in the ‘soft life’ game for years, it isn’t long before she too is bedding rich, older men and securing the bag.

“She soon becomes a second wife to the wealthy, older Muzi Sibiya,” said Gumede. “The ink isn’t even dry on her marriage certificate when she discovers that living in the lap of luxury comes at a price, and that all that glitters isn’t gold. Muzi and his current wife, Ntombi, have already pledged her soul to the demon Arazyal, who is the source of Muzi’s wealth. Mahlori is now trapped by a blood covenant she made with her husband and sister wife, a union that can only be broken by death,” said Gumede.

Gumede started writing the book in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown.

She first started writing on Facebook, dabbling in the fantasy and supernatural genre.

The author said the book was inspired by seeing her peers dropping out of college and universities in the pursuit of a life of luxury that the blessers dangle in front of their eyes like carrots. Most of these men are wealthy, but their money doesn’t come from hard work.

“Without knowing, these young women are sacrificed so that these men would have more money,” she said. “Some never return to school because after these rituals, they become hollowed-out shells who become candidates for mental hospitals. They are made insane so that they do not reveal to the world what they have seen.”

The Demon’s Wife is Gumede’s first book in paperback.