For eight long years, a Limpopo mother has lived with the heartbreak of being separated from her five children, clinging to the hope that one day they will return home to South Africa.
According to the Limpopo Chronicle, Sebotse Cecilia Muhammad, from Tzaneen, is desperately appealing for help to reunite with her children, who remain in Pakistan after their grandfather allegedly refused to allow them to return to South Africa.
What was meant to be a temporary family visit in 2018 has turned into years of uncertainty and anguish.
The Limpopo Chronicle reported that Sebotse’s late husband, Muhammad Amjid, a Pakistani national, travelled to his hometown of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab with the couple’s three children, who were between the ages of five and 11 at the time. The children were expected to attend a three-month Islamic studies programme while visiting their paternal relatives.
After the programme ended, Sebotse and Amjid returned to their home in Tzaneen without the children because they could not afford flights for the entire family.
Family spokesperson Brenda Lefofana told the news outlet that the couple later welcomed two more children in South Africa. She said Sebotse was eventually persuaded to travel to Pakistan with the younger children so they could also meet their grandfather.
However, what was supposed to be another family visit allegedly became a nightmare when, according to the family, Amjid repeatedly delayed plans to bring the children back to South Africa.
The situation has left Sebotse devastated, with no contact with any of her children for several years.
“My sister has not spoken to her children since 2022 because the grandfather appears to have changed his phone number,” Lefofana told the Limpopo Chronicle. “She is not coping. The entire family is struggling. We have also heard that they wanted the eldest child, a girl, to get married so she could provide for the family because no one was working.
“It has been incredibly frustrating. My sister has been denied contact with her children, and it appears the grandfather is deliberately preventing her from communicating with them.”
Lefofana said the prolonged separation has taken a heavy emotional toll on the entire family, which continues to search for ways to bring the children home.
There has, however, been a glimmer of hope. According to the news outlet, a social worker from the Limpopo Department of Social Development contacted the family on Wednesday.
“All we need is a case number so that we can bring our children back home. This situation is tearing my family apart,” Lefofana said.
IOL
Xolile Mtembu
iol.co.za
