Simenyiwe MaDlomo Zondo, the wife of a popular South African politician, who was reported missing has admitted that she is safe and sound at an undisclosed location while accusing her husband of abuse.
Her family, including her IFP Youth Brigade chairperson husband, Sanele Zondo, and her dad, Nkosinathi Dlomo, feared the worst when they reported her missing to the police on Friday, August 16, 2024.
The last time her husband called her, she informed him that she was heading to Richards Bay for some shopping.
On Wednesday, August 21, MaDlomo went live on Instagram, telling viewers she was safe after posts circulating on social media said she had been last seen last Friday.
MaDlomo shared disturbing details about the alleged abuse she suffered in her marital home.
During the livestream, she described how her husband had allegedly been emotionally and physically abusive towards her.
The 28-year-old woman recounted an incident where Zondo had allegedly chased her away and slapped her eight times until she cried.
She told viewers that when she threatened to report him to the police, he allegedly threatened her and dared her to do so, saying he would not be threatened by her.
She claimed she had attempted to escape and report the incident to the police after they had a brawl, but he made it to the police station first and also claimed that she had hurt him, she recounted
Speaking to IOL News on Wednesday, Zondo, who is the national chairperson of the IFP’s youth wing, the IFPYB, said the assault allegations made by his wife were false. Instead, Zondo claimed he was the one who was beaten by his wife.
“The families were yet to meet to address her allegations of me being abusive, but she left before the meeting happened,” said Zondo.
MaDlomo said the police did not file a statement, and when they returned home, her mother-in-law refused to let her enter the house, accusing her of abusing her son
“I did tell my father about how I am treated, and that my husband is not giving me money for food, or furniture to put in my rondavel, since he has not yet built a house for me. He did not provide for me,” said MaDlomo.
She dismissed the allegations made by her husband that the last time he was in contact with her was at 11am on Friday. She went on to say he had been ignoring her calls for a while.
“My father has never taken my side, he would blame me and say I am not respectful towards my husband,” said MaDlomo
Simenyiwe’s father, Dlomo, said he was aware that his daughter was live on Instagram, as well as the allegations made against him that he was aware of the abuse she endured in her marriage and did nothing to help her.
“Such allegations need the families to sit down and talk. She told me about the situation and I told her I take her word for it, but we need to meet with the Zondo family and talk about a way forward,” said Dlomo.
Dlomo said she has not reached out to her family since she went “missing”, saying he was still looking for his daughter
Zondo said he would call a press briefing to share his side of the story.
