Mystery of Chris Rock’s ‘daughter’

Chris Rock, his biological daughters Lola and Zahra, Ntombi Khanyile and estranged wife Malaak.

Chris Rock, his biological daughters Lola and Zahra, Ntombi Khanyile and estranged wife Malaak.

Published Nov 29, 2015

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Chris Rock’s estranged wife says she is in the process of adopting a 7-year-old South African girl who has been living as their daughter, following reports disclosing the girl had never been legally adopted.

The girl, Ntombi, has lived with the 50-year-old comedian, his wife Malaak Compton-Rock and their children since she was 6 months old, but reportedly lived in the country on a visitor visa that required return to her home country every year for a renewal.

While it’s still unclear how exactly Ntombi was placed in the care of the Rocks, her biological father has spoken to TMZ, illuminating the family’s tragic situation when the little girl was born.

Crispen Khanyile said he and his now ex-girlfriend Precious Ndebele were unemployed and already taking care of two children when they had Ntombi seven years ago.

An investigator who spoke to Ndebele last year, said she was living in an informal settlement selling secondhand clothes to provide for her family.

Khanyile would not talk further about why his daughter is living with the Rocks – or if any money exchanged hands – telling the gossip site to get answers from Compton-Rock.

Local authorities said yesterday there was no investigation into the American comedian illegally adopting a 7-year-old girl.

Department of Home Affairs, responsible for keeping record of citizens, referred queries to the Social Development Department which oversees all legal adoptions in the country.

Social development spokeswoman Lumka Oliphant said yesterday they had no details of the child and could not respond.

“We’ve been hearing about this story in the media,” said Oliphant.

“No journalist has come to us with any identity documents so we can say whether the child is South African... Home affairs would have a record of this.

“The Health Department would also have record of the child and where she was born. Rock would have passed through immigration if he left the country with the child and there would be record of that too.

“If there was an adoption the Department of Social Development would have documents.”

Oliphant said the social development department’s “process of adoption aims to protect the child. Once a child leaves the country, that country has to look after the child. That’s why we are very strict about adoption”.

American media reported last week that Rock and his estranged wife Malaak Compton-Rock had the girl, Ntombi, living with them since she was 6 months old.

But Ntombi had been living on a visitor’s visa, reported the New York Daily News last week.

“Ntombi reportedly began living with the comedian’s family in 2008 when she was 6 months old, but there is no evidence the star legally adopted her,” it reported.

It referred to celebrity gossip website TMZ claims that Ntombi “initially came into the country on a B2 ‘visitor for pleasure’ visa, which lets a guest stay in the US for up to a year”.

“South African officials launched an international investigation last year to determine how the child came to live in the US.”

Rock “never signed legal documents to adopt her and bringing her into the country was his estranged wife’s doing” TMZ reported.

Rock’s representatives said he did not have an adopted child.

American media reported Compton-Rock and Ntombi “allegedly went back to South Africa annually to reconnect with the girl’s biological mom, dad, brother and sister before returning to the US”.

Rock hit news headlines in 2010, when he “stirred up speculation that the little girl was a secret love child”.

Rock and Compton-Rock divorced last December and since then Rock reportedly has not seen Ntombi.

Daily Mail and Yazeed Kamaldien

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