Jun 23, 2026 · 31 min · 12 segments
Neighbours had called Sibusiso Mpungose an excellent father, citing how much time he seemed to spend with his children. But when his life began to unravel and it seemed he was going to have to answer…
Nicole EngelbrechtHostWhen Zolisile Dladla met and married Sibusiso Mpongose in the late 2000s, Zoli came into the marriage with a seven-year-old daughter, Ayaka, from Zoli's prior relationship with Vusi Jiyane.
She also really wanted to have more children of her own, so it wasn't long until Zoli and Sibusiso welcomed their first child together, Siphesihle.
Four years later, Khwezi was born, and two years after that, Kukile Khonke rounded off their family of four children.
Ayaka was by all accounts a wonderful older sister, and her teachers would say that she was happy at home until a few years into her high school career.
Relatively soon after the birth of her youngest sibling, things had started to change at home.
The Mpongose family truly presented to their community in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, as a very happy and normal family, so no one really saw what might have been happening behind the scenes.
Zoli's family, though, admitted that they had been aware that things between the couple had been difficult for quite some time, and Sibusiso had, according to them, been abusive toward Zoli.
Divorce is never an easy decision to make, and it's made especially more difficult when there are children involved.
Because this case would never go to a full trial, we do not have a lot of information about exactly what was happening behind the scenes in the Mpongose home.
But certainly by 2019, both Zoli and Sibusiso were well aware that there were major problems in their relationship.
When Zolisile Dladla met and married Sibusiso Mpongose in the late 2000s, Zoli came into the marriage with a seven-year-old daughter, Ayaka, from Zoli's prior relationship with Vusi Jiyane.
She also really wanted to have more children of her own, so it wasn't long until Zoli and Sibusiso welcomed their first child together, Siphesihle.
Four years later, Khwezi was born, and two years after that, Kukile Khonke rounded off their family of four children.
Ayaka was by all accounts a wonderful older sister, and her teachers would say that she was happy at home until a few years into her high school career.
Relatively soon after the birth of her youngest sibling, things had started to change at home.
The Mpongose family truly presented to their community in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, as a very happy and normal family, so no one really saw what might have been happening behind the scenes.
Zoli's family, though, admitted that they had been aware that things between the couple had been difficult for quite some time, and Sibusiso had, according to them, been abusive toward Zoli.
Divorce is never an easy decision to make, and it's made especially more difficult when there are children involved.
Because this case would never go to a full trial, we do not have a lot of information about exactly what was happening behind the scenes in the Mpongose home.
But certainly by 2019, both Zoli and Sibusiso were well aware that there were major problems in their relationship.
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