The Pain of Watching My Wife and Our 3 Children Face the Death Sentence

In a world where truth can be twisted and innocence can be shattered, one man’s life was forever changed and will hardly recover. Why? Because he was foreign. But his plans were torn apart by the deception of wealth, as the threat of truth was buried under the strength of lies. As we speak, his wife is being taught by her teacher, and his three children are fiercely battling against a death penalty which was assigned to them back in 2021.

Why is Bihadija not wanted by her family, and how is Dr. Pillali managing this tricky situation? This is the tragic story of a 61-year-old man, Foreign, who is known for the support he has offered to his community through his professional career as an ecologist. But judging by the nature of his record face, you can easily tell that Dr. Pillali’s help to his community has never come back to him. The man lost everything he had worked so hard for, from his career to his family and friends.

He was once a man filled with laughter, love, and dreams for a better tomorrow. But fate had something different in store for him. He grew up in poor conditions, as his father was not able to take care of them because of the injuries he sustained during his participation in the Second World War. His mother, who was the breadwinner of the family, motivated him to study ecology at the university, where he met his beautiful wife, Bihadija, whom he later married, producing three children thereafter.

But the happy family would not last long, as problems started to pop up. In a little while, it was because of a plot of land. His wife, who is the firstborn among her siblings, had developed a strong relationship with her parents, who gave her a plot of land as her inheritance before they died. But when she wanted to claim it, her brothers refused, complaining that she would share the family’s resources with her husband, who didn’t belong to the tribe. They asked her to divorce Dr. Bilali if she wanted to have access to her inheritance. As she refused, on April 9th, 2019, Dr. Bilali received a call when he was not at home, informing him that his family was in great danger.

“I received a call informing me that my wife and children were in danger, that I had to pay attention to the situation immediately. I stopped what I was doing and planned a quick return to my house to follow up on the situation.”

Bilali quickly noticed that whatever danger his family was in had something to do with his wife’s relatives, who never wished her well. But amidst the darkness, Dr. Bilali stood firm and believed in the innocence of his loved ones. He vowed to fight for them in order to untangle the web of lies that ensnared their lives. As he embarked on that journey, his wife’s siblings were doing everything in their power to weaken her.

“They did everything in their power to nullify my wife. The first time, they accused her of killing a person, and the second time, they poisoned her through water. Together with our children, I tried to take her to the hospital, and it was very expensive. But later on, they recovered.”

She took the matter to court, and they threatened to kill her.

“Half of that, our dear sister, who tried to do everything but to you, including poisoning you. But she survived. We have power, and we have a good relationship with local security authorities, so your allegations will never affect us at all. We promise you that if you survive beyond April 2019, we will come to kill you ourselves.”

As they arrived to kill Bihadija and her children, it was one Sunday in April 2019, around 11:52 am. They launched a massive attack with machetes, saying that they had to die or flee. Luckily, their firstborn boy saw them in advance and called for them to escape. Bihadija fled to the banana tree field, and they followed her. When they couldn’t find her, they cut down banana trees and other crops as revenge.

In the aftermath, they collected all the evidence, including photographs of what happened, and reported it to the local authorities. However, they didn’t seem to care. They called them around 12 pm, but the authorities only arrived around 4 pm. By then, their house had already been burned down, and their possessions inside were stolen by the mob.

Silly about it, as Dr. Bilali and his wife reported the matter to the local authorities, they were surprised to find that her siblings had connived with local leaders, and all her allegations were dismissed by the police. Instead, the police took Dr. Bilali’s wife and his children, claiming to protect them.

“At first, it was all good, but later on, the case changed. They were accused of committing murder and were flown to jail. The youngest boy was 15 years old, which doesn’t guarantee his imprisonment.”

The officials who pretended to come to serve them asked his wife and children to board their car and follow them. They reported them to the police station of Moshi, saying that they were protecting them from threats on their lives. But the following morning, they refused to release them and instead continued to arrest them. The commander of the police station ordered his junior to record the dossier as suspected killers, as the office had the case of 10 people who were killed but whose killer was unknown. They wanted Dr. Bilali’s family to be accused of such a huge crime.

Dr. Bilali tried to follow up and visit different offices in Moshi and Dar es Salaam to seek help, but nothing happened. He even reported the matter to the office of good governance and human rights in Dar es Salaam, but again, nothing happened. In the meantime, around 2021, the judge decided that Bihadija and his children were convicted of murder and should be punished by death.

“Surprisingly, right after the court provided its verdict, which is undergoing an appealing process, Bihadija’s sibling sold the plot of land which they had refused to sell to them.”

Dr. Bilali is awaiting the court’s decision regarding his appeals.

“We are waiting for the court to consider our appeals. My family members are still in prison for five years, but I will never give up on them, no matter what will happen in the future. I’m optimistic about the favorable results, but be ready to receive whatever outcome.”

Sadly, Dr. Bilali has suffered a lot, living a solitary life, while his family languishes in jail. Despite his mental suffering, the man is also struggling with poverty, as he’s no longer able to work due to constant journeys to visit his family. His house has been burned by his wife’s siblings.

“This is the fifth year in jail, and throughout that time, I have been the one who took care of them every single time I have visited them and also followed up on their cases on a daily basis. It’s exhausting and time-consuming. Besides that, I no longer have a house to live in, and my financial abilities to rent another house have plummeted. I spent the night with my neighbors, and it’s very tough for me.”

You can help Dr. Bilali take care of his family members and build another house through givinglive.com. The links and phone numbers in the description and top comments. Dr. Bilali’s story serves as a poignant reminder that even in the darkest of times, the power of truth and the indomitable spirit of those who fight for it can triumph over the most insidious lies.