The Sunday News
Sunday News Reporter
Pumeza Udo, a Zimbabwean woman with a tumultuous past, is on a quest to reunite with her long-lost relatives in Zimbabwe.
Having left her homeland at the tender age of three, Pumeza’s memories are faint, but she recalls her family residing in Mbembesi.
Her departure from Zimbabwe was precipitated by the harrowing events of Gukurahundi, during which her father, Williams Feni, a prominent ZAPU member in Mbembesi, feared for their lives and fled with his young daughter to South Africa.
Struggling to make ends meet in a foreign land, Williams faced immense challenges as an unemployed single father, ultimately leading him to make the heart-wrenching decision to place Pumeza for adoption.
To add on to her woes, Williams was himself murdered in the neighbouring country with information availed to Pumeza suggesting that he was targeted by individuals linked to the fifth brigade who had traced him to South Africa.
Subsequently, Pumeza found herself under the care of Olga Mhlahlo, an experience marred by abuse and mistreatment, leaving her feeling more like a servant than a member of the family.
“Life was not easy under Mhlahlo, I was treated like a maid and abused by the family, I was not considered a child but a servant and was constantly reminded of my past. When Mhlahlo passed away, I thought that life would be better but I was mistaken,” said Pumeza, in an interview with this publication.
Following Mhlahlo’s passing, Pumeza was callously cast into the streets by her purported siblings, who disowned her and labelled her a foreigner.
Amid these trials, Pumeza met and married a Nigerian national, Tony Udo in who found solace and they welcomed three children.
However, her life took a perilous turn upon discovering her husband’s involvement in illicit activities entangling Zimbabwean and South African officials. Pumeza now finds herself trapped in a web of violence and danger, facing threats on her life from her husband’s adversaries in South Africa.
In a poignant plea to her long-lost relatives in Zimbabwe, Pumeza shares, “I am desperately seeking my Zimbabwean family in hopes of finding refuge for myself and my children. The threats of violence and the precarious situation I find myself in leave me with no choice but to seek sanctuary among my own kin. I implore you to help us in our time of need.”
As Pumeza embarks on this emotional journey, the hope of reuniting with her Zimbabwean roots becomes not only a beacon of comfort but also a lifeline for the safety and well-being of her and her children.
