'My children live with the consequences of my actions' — Denise Zimba longs for her kids

Denise Zimba has taken to Instagram to express her longing for her children after her high court battle with her estranged husband Jakob Schlichtig.

“Haven’t spoken to my children in almost two weeks ... my biggest regret is choosing wrong and having my children live with the consequences of my actions.”

Denise met Jacob in Cape Town in 2015. Their first daughter was born in July 2019 and they married seven months later. In 2022 the family relocated to Munich, Germany. Their second child was born there in 2023 and Denise filed for divorce in September that year.

Two months later, the family came to SA for a two-month holiday. Denise opted to not return to Germany with the children, alleging attempted assault and infidelity.

The Johannesburg high court ordered her to return her two daughters, aged one and four, to Jakob in Germany, saying because the children had been living there, they had to be returned to that country.

The judgment cited The Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction which provides for an “internationally agreed mechanism for dealing with the global phenomenon of child abduction”, judge Maletsatsi Mahalelo said in her judgment.

“I did not abduct my children. We both agreed the children and I would stay in SA after a round table meeting with my estranged husband and my family, only for him to return to Germany and open the case. It was a shock to me and my family. My family was willing to discuss matters with his family. He said he would relay the message. That never happened,” she told the Sunday Times.

“I was four months post-partum and financially dependent on my estranged husband. My career had been halted for the longest time. I had to fight for my girls to remain with me, their primary caregiver, during my divorce. My girls were four years and four months at the time.”