While the woman accused of kidnapping Zephany Nurse in 1997 has been found guilty of kidnapping, fraud and contravening the Children’s Act and, as the family awaits judgement, Zephany’s biological father has reported that his daughter has chosen to live with her “adoptive” family. She has not visited her biological family since November and, currently writing supplementary Matric exams, has blocked her biological father from her cellphone.

While the Nurse family got justice, they lost their daughter, again.

Now, the teenager is fighting to keep the name she grew up with as she doesn’t want to be known as Zephany Nurse.

The day after Zephany’s kidnapper was found guilty – the judge called her account of Sylvia a “fairytale” – she spent the day with her “father”:

She was devastated when she heard her “mommy” had been found guilty.

She was broken, me also, she took the news hard.

We are scared she might get a long prison term… we are trying to cope with life without my wife but it’s hard, she did everything for us, it is a daily adjustment for us.

Her biological father has a different opinion of the “mother”:

That kidnapping mother is a wicked, wicked woman, who has filled her head with ideas which have deprived us of the chance of getting to know Zephany.

The kidnapping put a strain on our marriage, which led to divorce a couple of years ago.

But her biological father said that Zephany needs time:

I don’t want to speak for her; she will come out one day and talk about how she feels about everything, including how they have taken away her mother from her.

I just want to be there for her, this includes whether or not she wants her biological family in her life.

[source: iol]