Graeme Smith's wife bound to SA by children – lawyer

Morgan Deane has to stay in South Africa because her children are here, her lawyer Leon van der Merwe said when she appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court last week, a News24 report notes. The former singer from Ireland, who is still married to ex-Proteas captain Graeme Smith, was charged with violating the Immigration Act after overstaying her visa. She was locked in a cell for a few hours in December because her visa had expired on 5 September 2015. Deane’s appearance was brief and she left court quickly after the case was postponed, because the senior official who had to consider her representation was not available due to a family crisis. Van der Merwe said: ‘She is married to Graeme Smith and they have two children. How on earth can they tell her she doesn’t have the right to be in the country? Is she not allowed to be here, but her children have to stay here?’ She wanted to be with her children, even though her parents were not in the country.

Full Fin24 report