Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
BAD blood between two half-brothers is threatening to rip their family apart as they battle over a house built by their late father.
The feud pits Innocent Mtetwa against his elder half-brother, Nicholas Maunze, whom he accuses of occupying his late mother’s house, and trying to force him out of the family homestead.
Appearing before Chief Mutasa’s community court last Saturday, Mtetwa said tensions flared after Maunze returned to the homestead following their father’s death and settled in the house his mother had built.
Mtetwa said although they share the same father, Maunze was raised elsewhere and only joined the family homestead years later — a move that has now sparked bitter conflict over inheritance and rightful ownership.
“I am now being chased away from my home by my half-brother. This is the home where my mother and father lived and raised me. Maunze only came to stay there after he was already married, and after both my mother and our father had passed away. He moved into the house that belonged to my late mother. I believe he should have been given his own place to stay instead of occupying the house that my mother built with our father. I have tried to discuss the matter with him, but he refuses to listen. He acts as if nobody can question him,” said Mtetwa.
Mtetwa further accused his half-brother of claiming traditional authority and presenting himself as the real Chief Mutasa.
“He carries a knobkerrie and a traditional knife everywhere he goes, and tells people that he is the real deal, the real Chief Mutasa. That behaviour has made it difficult for anyone to reason with him. He has even prepared some traditional rituals to install himself as the chief,” he said.
However, Maunze strongly denied the allegations, and insisted that he had never attempted to evict his younger brother.
He said the two men were merely struggling to co-exist despite an earlier directive ordering them to live peacefully together.
“He is my younger brother and we have different mothers. I grew up at my maternal uncle’s home, and only went to my father’s home long after he had died. There is already a court order that says we should co-exist, and we have been trying to do that,” said Maunze, adding that the houses in question belonged to their late father, and therefore he saw no reason why Mtetwa had to be possessive about them.
“Mtetwa has his own houses while I am staying in the houses left by our father. The problem is that whenever he comes home, there is trouble. He becomes aggressive, shouts and causes disturbances. We often fail to sleep because of the noise. He even breaks windows and doors while demanding that I leave because he says I am staying in his late mother’s house,” he said.
Maunze explained that although he is older than Mtetwa, he was never raised by their father because his mother and the deceased did not marry.
“My mother was impregnated by our father, but they never lived together as husband and wife. I only became part of my father’s family after he had already died,” he said.
Chief Mutasa revealed that he was familiar with reports surrounding Maunze’s conduct.
“I know you and I have heard a lot about you. Your reputation precedes you. There have been reports that you have been moving around claiming to be Chief Mutasa and conducting traditional ceremonies associated with chieftainship,” said Chief Mutasa.
The chief directed the local leadership to find a permanent solution to the housing dispute.
He instructed the headman responsible for the area to ensure that Maunze is allocated his own residential stand where he can establish an independent homestead.
“The matter must be handled fairly. Maunze should be given his own space where he can build his own home. You cannot continue staying in the bedroom and kitchen that belonged to his late mother’s household.
“He must be allocated land where he can build his own homestead and live independently. That will help restore peace and reduce the conflict between the two families,” said Chief Mutasa.
