The family of a KwaZulu-Natal politician is pleading and praying for the wife’s safe return after she was last seen last Friday in the Hluhluwe area.
However, the family is fearing the worst after the 28-year-old woman allegedly sent cryptic messages to her father and her husband, suggesting she was about to take her own life.
Simenyiwe MaDlomo Zondo, who is the wife of Sanele Zondo, the national chairperson of the IFP Youth Brigade (IFPYB), was last seen on Friday.
Zondo says he last heard from his wife on the same day when she said she was going shopping in Richards Bay.
The missing woman’s father, Nkosinathi Dlomo, is praying and pleading for her safe return. Dlomo told IOL on Monday that he received a message from her daughter that suggested she was considering taking her own life.
The husband, Zondo, also said he received alarming, coded messages which have caused great worry among the family.
The KZN police have confirmed that they are investigating the 28-year-old woman’s disappearance.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda told IOL: “A missing person enquiry was registered at Hluhluwe for investigation following an incident where a 28-year-old Simenyiwe Dlomo Zondo reportedly went missing on August 16, 2024.
“She was last seen at a school in Hluhluwe, Mduku area,” he said.
Dlomo told IOL that someone claimed to have seen her waiting for a car at a bus station, but she did not appear like a frightened person as the text messages suggested, but she apparently looked friendly.
He also read back to IOL a text message that he had received, purportedly from his daughter, which suggested she was unhappy in her union and with her in-laws.
"Baba ngakubikela ngesimo engihleli phansi kwaso emzini kodwa ngibuka esengathi indlela udaba oluphele ngayo alungichulisanga mina kodwa ke akusenani," the message read in isiZulu.
In that message, the daughter had been reporting to her father that she was unhappy about the situation with her husband or/and her in-laws, concluding “but it doesn’t matter anymore”.
Dlomo told IOL they were devastated as a family.
“We are very devastated as a family about the situation, because the way it happened its seems like she wanted to kill herself.
“We are aware that she was not treated well at her in-laws, because they were not talking to her even her husband,” said Dlomo.
Zondo, who was not available on his phone when IOL contacted him on Monday, said in a statement: “I was not home when my wife left, so I am unable to provide a description of what she was wearing at the time. Since the conversation, I have been unable to contact her.”
“Her family and I are heartbroken and we are asking the community to help us in any way possible.
“We are desperate for any information that could lead us to Simenyiwe,” pleaded Zondo.
IOL News