Gauteng Mom’s Nightmare As Grade R Child Allegedly Taken To Congo Without Passport

A Gauteng mother has been left traumatised after discovering that her five-year-old daughter, who was meant to start Grade R this week, is allegedly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after being taken there by her father without her consent.

Yowa Wamuhle Mkhaliphi does not have a passport, and her birth certificate remains in her mother’s possession — raising serious questions about how the child was able to leave South Africa undetected.

Grade R Plans Shattered as Child Allegedly Leaves South Africa

Yowa’s mother, Noluthando Mkhaliphi from Ivory Park, said her daughter went to spend the school holidays with her Congolese father, Yannick Lukusa Ilunga, in Randburg on December 17.

The arrangement was in line with an agreement the former couple reached after their relationship ended when Yowa was just over a year old.

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Mkhaliphi said she remained in regular contact with her daughter through video calls — until things took a disturbing turn.

“In one instance, I asked my child when she is coming back, and her father said ‘when Jesus comes back.’”

She said that by December 31, Ilunga had stopped responding to her messages. On January 5, she received a text message that left her stunned.

“On January 5 he sent me a text that he is back home [in the DRC] and that he would bring her back after six months,” she said.

No Passport, No Documents — Mother Questions How Child Crossed the Border

Mkhaliphi said she is struggling to understand how her daughter could have left the country without any official documentation.

“Yowa does not have a passport, and her birth certificate is with me; even on the certificate, Ilunga does not appear [so] I am wondering what mode of transport they used [to leave the country] because if they flew, they would have been intercepted [at airports] because officials would have wanted documents.

“I think they forged documents to skip the country,” she said.

She added that she plans to visit the department of home affairs to establish whether any fraudulent documents were issued in her daughter’s name.

“I think they forged documents to skip the country.”

After learning that Ilunga was allegedly in the DRC, Mkhaliphi contacted a relative from his side of the family.

“He later called me and told me that Ilunga was in Congo and that their sister confirmed it.”

Police Case Opened as Desperate Mother Pleads for Child’s Return

On January 6, Mkhaliphi went to the Randburg home where Ilunga lived with his wife, only to find it empty.

“The neighbours told me that he sold most of his stuff on Facebook Marketplace before he left.”

She said a mutual friend later told her that Ilunga claimed she would not see her daughter again until she turned 18 and that he planned to travel to Europe with the child.

Mkhaliphi said she last spoke to Yowa on Saturday evening and became deeply concerned by what she saw.

“You could see that she is not okay; she [appeared] to be in fear because there were people in the background, and when I asked when she was coming back, she told me, ‘Daddy said I am not coming back.’”

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Her plea is simple and urgent.

“I just want my child to be brought back to South Africa and her father to be arrested.”

Mkhaliphi believes Ilunga’s family is supporting the alleged abduction. She also noted that Ilunga has since set his TikTok and Facebook accounts to private.

She has opened a case at the Ivory Park police station and approached the DRC embassy in Pretoria for assistance in tracing Ilunga and securing her daughter’s return. She said she expects feedback today.

The department of international relations confirmed it could not intervene. Spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said: “It’s a matter that should be dealt with by law officials and the department of justice.”

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