KEY POINTS
- Denise Zimba must return her children to Germany by court order.
- The custody case follows allegations of infidelity and divorce proceedings.
- German courts will determine long-term custody and parental rights.
After illegally keeping her two young children in South Africa under the guise of a vacation, Denise Zimba, a former Vuzu host and Generations actress, has been ordered by a South African court to send them to Germany.
Zimba faces court order to return children to Germany
The children’s primary caretaker, Zimba, has sought for a visa so she can return to Germany with her kids. Despite the fact that their German passports had expired, the children, who are dual citizens of South Africa and Germany, were regular residents of Germany.
Zimba’s current divorce proceedings from her estranged husband, Jakob Schlichtig, coincide with the custody fight. Public disclosures of adultery have tainted the couple’s breakup; Zimba claims Schlichtig had an affair with Mpumi Mdluli, an acquaintance from her youth.
German court to decide on children’s long-term custody
Judge Daniel Thulare of the Western Cape High Court highlighted the children’s wellbeing this week, pointing out that they are one and five years old. After Schlichtig filed a lawsuit under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, the court pointed out a miscommunication about Zimba’s legal possibilities for appeal.
According to Iol, Zimba had challenged a previous Gauteng High Court ruling, but the Supreme Court of case rejected her case. Judge Thulare pointed out that Zimba had misinterpreted the appeals timeline, thinking it started only once the appeals process was over.
According to court documents, “the mother unlawfully retained the children in Johannesburg in early 2024 after refusing to return to Germany with the children following a family vacation in South Africa.”
After Schlichtig contacted the German Central Authority in March 2024, steps were taken in Johannesburg to ensure the return of the children.
Judge Thulare declared, “The legal position is that South Africa has an obligation to ensure the prompt return to Germany of children wrongfully retained in the country.” “It also serves to guarantee that the father’s access and custody rights under German law are upheld in South Africa.”
Judge Thulare pointed out that although South African courts might take the children’s best interests into account, German courts are ultimately responsible for deciding custody disputes.
“We acknowledge that the mother might be in a better position to provide care, but the German courts have the final say,” Thulare continued.
