The missing wife of Member of Parliament and Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade leader, Sanele Zondo, had a fallout with her husband prior to her going missing. According to the family of Simenyiwe Dlomo-Zondo from Hluhluwe, in the far north of KwaZulu Natal, she left her husband in June after he allegedly assaulted her.

MISSING

Simenyiwe went missing on Friday after she had reported that she was going to Richards Bay to do shopping. Her father, Nkosinathi Dlomo, told ZiMoja that he believes that her daughter met with her estranged husband on the day she went missing. "My daughter was not happy with her husband. They got married in March and already he was talking about paying lobola for a third wife. When she told him she did not approve, he hit her," Dlomo said. "He also promised to build my daughter her own home and buy her a car at their wedding but he failed to do all that," he said. Dlomo added that his daughter came back home in June and told them that he was leaving the politician as he was abusive towards her. "What kind of man goes and pays lobola for a third wife when he has not fulfilled his promises to his other wife? My daughter was right to walk away from this. Sanele is a typical politician who will smooth talk you into everything," he said.

ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE

On Monday, Zondo issued a statement seeking assistance from the public to find his wife. "I am reaching out to the community with a heavy heart as I urgently seek the public's assistance in locating my beloved wife, Simenyiwe MaDlomo-Zondo. She has been missing since Friday, August 16, 2024. The last time I spoke to Simenyiwe was around 11:00 AM when she informed me that she was heading to Richards Bay for some shopping. I was not at home when my wife left, so I am unable to provide a description of what she was wearing at the time. Since that conversation, I have been unable to contact her, and I have received some alarming, coded messages that have caused me great concern for her safety," he said in the statement.

FAMILY SAYS MP KNOWS MORE 

Dlomo told ZiMoja that he believed that Zondo met with his daughter on the day that she left home for Richars Bay. "We don't know what to believe now. I don't trust politicians, especially with everything that was happening between them. Politicians will forever be politicians, and they have their way of smooth talking themselves out of issues. They probably met on that day but I don't know for sure. I hear that he has been busy issuing statements on our behalf. I don't know why he is doing that because he never spoke to me as the father of Simenyiwe," Dlomo said. Zondo could not be reached for a comment as his phone rang unanswered. KZN SAPS Spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that a missing person's case was opened with Hluhluwe police after a 28-year-old woman went missing on August 16.