Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A DECADES-OLD family secret was dramatically exposed after a DNA test settled a bitter dispute over the burial of a Dangamvura man, whose death in a road accident sparked an extraordinary battle between two families claiming him as their own.
The dispute erupted after the man’s fatal road accident near Rusape on July 26.
Relatives had gathered the following day to begin funeral and burial preparations when an unexpected claimant emerged, insisting that he, and not the family whose surname the deceased had carried all his life, was the man’s biological father.
For decades, the deceased was known as a Makururu and was universally recognised as part of the Makururu family.
However, David Kazhanje stunned mourners when he arrived at the funeral and declared that the deceased was his son, triggering a fierce dispute over the man’s identity, lineage and final resting place.
The disagreement escalated to the point where the families agreed to undergo DNA testing. The results later indicated a 99,9 percent probability that Kazhanje was biologically related to the deceased.
The deceased’s maternal aunt, Josephine Mutambanewose, who reported the matter, said tensions intensified when members of the Makururu family questioned plans to bury the deceased in Mutare.
“After the death, when we went to collect the body from the mortuary, the Makururu family wanted to know why we intended to bury him in Mutare because they said the child belonged to them.
“They were the fathers that we knew, but the child grew up within my family. I told them that while he was alive they never acknowledged him, yet they now wanted to claim him in death. I also questioned why they were suddenly concerned about him when there were other children whose circumstances had not attracted similar attention,” she said.
The funeral, held at the deceased’s home in Dangamvura, quickly became the centre of a family standoff as relatives split into opposing camps.
Stanley Minezhi, Mutambanewose’s brother, said he ordered the DNA test to establish the truth once and for all.
“I am the one who instructed them to do a DNA test so that we could know the truth. It was only Kazhanje who underwent the tests, and the deceased was found to be his son,” he said.
Minezhi explained that the deceased was raised under the Makururu surname and that members of that family had previously paid roora for his mother.
However, DNA results involving two of the deceased’s children reportedly produced differing outcomes.
While one test indicated a 63,9 percent probability of relatedness and stated that the evidence was insufficient to either conclusively prove or refute a biological relationship, another returned a 99,9 percent probability.
The deceased’s widow, Rudo Madzivo, said she had accepted the outcome of the DNA tests despite the emotional turmoil it had caused.
“I have accepted Kazhanje because he has the test results, but the Makururus have also lost hope because of the results,” she said.
Madzivo said the uncertainty had complicated important cultural processes that can only be overseen by the deceased’s rightful paternal family, including a memorial service and the traditional distribution of his clothing.
Another maternal aunt, Julia Matambanewose, shed light on the circumstances that gave rise to the dispute.
She said her late sister had previously been married into the Makururu family and had two children before the marriage ended.
“After they had been separated for six years, she became pregnant by Kazhanje,” she said.
Matambanewose alleged that her sister later used her former husband’s details to obtain a birth certificate for the child, resulting in the deceased carrying the Makururu surname.
“The truth is that the deceased was not Makururu’s child, and both parents went to the grave with that secret,” she said.
Responding to allegations that he had abandoned his son, Kazhanje said he had always been known to the family as the child’s biological father.
“They knew that I was the father. His late mother should have told her relatives that I was the deceased’s real father, but she never did.
“I spent my entire son’s life as an outsider, and sadly he never got the opportunity to know me before his death,” he said.
The dispute eventually came before Chief Mutasa, who ruled that while DNA evidence had established biological paternity, customary procedures still had to be observed.
Chief Mutasa directed Kazhanje to first approach the deceased’s maternal relatives and formally address outstanding cultural obligations.
“You need to go and marry your late son’s mother first before you go to your son’s widow and introduce yourself as her father-in-law, as you have done,” he said.
The chief further ordered Kazhanje to compensate the Makururu family for raising the deceased from infancy to adulthood.
“Kazhanje should begin the traditional processes required of him, including compensating the Makururus, who looked after his child from birth until his death this year.
“He had already become a grown man with his own family. Kazhanje should also marry the deceased’s late mother,” said Chief Mutasa.
DNA bombshell at funeral
