She wrote: "I'm losing my willpower, and my strength has become weakened. I'm losing my patience. I want to come home. I miss my family, who are in distress at the moment."

Ruwayda said on Sunday in a telephonic interview that there was "little hope at the moment" that things would work out in the pair's favour soon.

She spent Sunday reading and listening to CDs from home, as well as some newly acquired Spanish tunes, at a house belonging to the South African foreign mission.

Ruwayda added that she and Pillay had been advised not to speak to anyone about the business deals that led to their being kept under virtual house arrest.

This is cache, read story here