Bulelwa Hoala
South African TV presenter Denise Zimba has allegedly been ordered to return her two daughters (aged 19 months and 5 years) to her estranged husband Jakob Schlichtigin in Munich, Germany.
This follows a ruling by the Johannesburg High Court after Schlichting reportedly submitted a request for the return of the children to the Central Authority in Germany.
According to reports, the case was referred to the Central Authority of South Africa, which turned to the High Court .
The High Court has since ordered for the kids be returned back to Germany in terms of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
South African Anti Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) non-profit organisation Women For Change announced on Friday that they stand with Zimba in her fight to keep her daughters in South Africa.
In a statement posted on social media, Women For Change revealed that Zimba and Schlichting first moved back to South Africa after their second child was born, however due to marital disputes, Denise decided to stay in their home in Cape Town while her husband moved back to Germany.
IOL reports that the children came to South Africa on a two month holiday with their parents in November 2023 but when they were due to return to Germany on 11 January, the mother refused to return the children to Germany where the 5-year-old was meant to return to school.
“This ruling is yet another example of the system failing mothers. Fathers can claim parental rights while disregarding the immense emotional and physical labor mothers dedicate to raising their children. The trauma of taking children away from their mothers – their source of comfort, safety, and love – is immeasurable.
“We stand with Denise and every mother who has had to fight – often alone, often unheard, and too often losing. We demand justice for Denise, her two daughters, and all the women silenced by a system that continues to fail them,” Women For Change wrote on X.
Women For Change stands with Denise Zimba, who has been relentlessly fighting to keep her two young daughters in South Africa, the only home they truly know.
— Women For Change (@womenforchange5) March 7, 2025
The Johannesburg High Court ruled in favor of Denise’s estranged husband, allowing him to take their daughters, aged 19… pic.twitter.com/hWDXISfwVu
In January 2025, Zimba trended on social media after she revealed that her ex-husband cheated on her with her childhood friend whom she has known since she was 14 years old, Mpumi Mdluli.
“Nothing worse than finding out your best friend since you were 14 years old has been having an affair with your husband, and that’s why she always ghosted you when you were pregnant and never celebrated you – birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers,” Zimba wrote on X.
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