Denise Zimba’s battle with her estranged husband, Jakob Schlichtig, has taken an even more painful turn.
Earlier this year, the former "Generations" actress and TV presenter publicly revealed some of the betrayals that led to their divorce, including allegations that Schlichtig had an affair with her childhood friend, Mpumi Mdluli.
While Zimba made it clear that she had no regrets about leaving him, the situation regarding custody of their children has become even more distressing.
According to reports, the Johannesburg High Court has ruled in favour of Schlichtig, granting him the right to take their two daughters - aged five years and 19 months - back with him to Germany.
Women For Change, a South African organisation advocating for women’s rights and the fight against gender-based violence, has expressed its support for Zimba as she continues to challenge the ruling.
“Denise Zimba has been relentlessly fighting to keep her two young daughters in South Africa, the only home they truly know,” the organisation stated.
The group also criticised the court’s reasoning, saying, “The court filed documents and claimed that the girls would be distressed without their father but failed to acknowledge the devastating trauma it would have on the children to tear them away from their mother and their home.”
According to the organisation, Zimba, Schlichtig, and their eldest daughter initially moved to Germany in 2022. However, after giving birth to their second child, Zimba decided to return to South Africa, seeking the support of her loved ones.
As marital conflicts escalated, she chose to stay in Cape Town with the children. Schlichtig initially agreed and went back to Germany, but later filed a Hague Convention case against her, arguing that she had unlawfully kept the children in South Africa.
The Hague Convention is an international treaty that deals with cross-border child custody disputes, ensuring that children are returned to their country of habitual residence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Since then, Zimba has been locked in a painful legal battle, fighting to raise her daughters in what she considers a safe and loving environment.
Zimba has not publicly commented on the court ruling in detail, but she took to social media to share her heartbreak.
On X (formerly Twitter), she posted an image of a woman holding a baby with the words, “I made you."
Zimba, who made it clear that she has no regrets about leaving Schlichtig, has been ordered to return her children to Germany, but the custody and divorce proceedings are still ongoing.