The IFP has wasted no time suspending its MP, Sanele Zondo, with immediate effect on allegations by his wife that he is a woman abuser.
“After days of dread and anxiety, the IFP noted with relief today that Mrs Simenyiwe Dlomo-Zondo, the wife of IFP Youth Brigade national chairperson, comrade Sanele Zondo, has been located and is alive,” said the party’s spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
On Monday, Zondo, in an impassioned plea, released a statement requesting that he be assisted in finding his missing wife, who had vanished without a trace.
Zondo explained at the time that his wife had left their matrimonial home in Hluhluwe, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
He said she was destined for Richards Bay for shopping, but she never made it back home.
It had been three days since MaDlomo-Zondo had allegedly gone missing. Zondo went on to lament how he was worried that his “beloved wife” could be a victim of his job as a politician.
Case of a missing person opened
The matter was reported to the police in Hluhluwe, who unleashed all resources to find the missing woman.
But in a dramatic turn of events on Wednesday, Zondo’s wife released a Facebook video pouring her heart out on how she had allegedly suffered severe abuse at the hands of his husband.
She claimed that it was an unbearable situation, which made her seek refuge elsewhere to escape the wrath of the politician.
“I’m trying not to cry, but this thing is weighing heavily on my shoulders,” said Dlomo-Zondo.
“My husband is abusing me. I’m even more surprised that on his post he calls me a beloved wife. He is a serial liar.”
Special leave
Zondo, in the aftermath of the revelations made by his wife, made counter-accusations, labeling her a bully who has tortured him on several occasions.
He went on to release graphic images of the alleged beating by his wife, a matter he says was reported to the police.
The IFP stated that suspending Zondo was primarily due to the fact that it takes gender-based violence (GBV) seriously.
“We therefore take this matter extremely seriously and wish to assure the public of our commitment to deal with this matter with the urgent priority and attention it deserves and requires,” said Hlengwa.
According to the party, Zondo will be placed on special leave to allow him time to deal with his family problems.
