Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A BITTER land wrangle between two brothers in Honde Valley has laid bare deep family divisions, with each side presenting conflicting claims before Chief Mutasa’s community court.
The elder brother, Richard Kutiwa, insists the disputed land forms part of their late father’s estate.
But his younger brother, Fanuel Kutiwa, argues the property was gifted to him by their aunt, Florence Gwiriri, in the 1990s.
Richard accused both his aunt and brother of unlawfully possessing land that he believes rightfully belongs to the family.
“The land was confiscated in the 1970s while we were still young. We had no power to challenge it then, but that does not change the fact that it belonged to our father,” he told the court, expressing anger that his own brother had sided with their aunt.
“What hurts me most is that my brother has chosen to stand with our aunt instead of his family. He now acts as if the land never belonged to our father.”
Fanuel, however, rejected his brother’s claims.
He told the court that their late father had made it clear the land belonged to the Gwiriri family, not to them.
“My father advised me to approach our aunt if I needed land. In the 1990s, I asked her for a small portion, and she gave it to me for temporary use,” Fanuel explained.
The dispute has now escalated into a full-blown family feud, with Chief Mutasa’s court tasked with untangling decades-old claims of inheritance, ownership, and loyalty.
“My brother does not know any of this because he decided to turn a blind eye to it. The truth is that the land belonged to the Gwiriri family. Our father told me this many years ago,” said Fanuel, explaining that the conversation took place shortly after his marriage, and asked his father to allocate him a piece of land.
“When I got married, I approached my father and asked him for land. That is when he told me that the land we were using belonged to the Gwiriri family. He told me that if I wanted land, I should engage our aunt, Florence, because it was her family’s land,” he said, adding that he approached Gwiriri in the 1990s, requesting a small portion of the land for personal use.
“I approached my aunt Florence and asked her if she could temporarily give me a piece of land where I could put my cattle pen. She agreed and allowed me to use the land temporarily,” he said, adding that the situation changed recently when his aunt formally handed the land over to him, triggering the conflict with his brother.
“A month ago, my aunt approached me and told me that since I had used the land for decades, I could now take it permanently. My brother now thinks that I was given that land as a bribe. The land belongs to the Gwiriri family, and they simply gave me a piece of it. There was no conspiracy and no betrayal,” he said.
An elderly Florence Gwiriri dismissed the allegations that she had taken land belonging to the Kutiwa family, telling the court that the land belonged to her, and that she had used it for farming long before Fanuel approached her requesting to use part of it.
“This land has been mine for many years. I farmed cotton on that land and everyone in the community knows it,” said Gwiriri, further confirming that Fanuel had approached her in the 90s asking for temporary use of it.
“Fanuel came to me in the 1990s asking for a piece of land. He said he needed a place for his cattle pen and I allowed him to use it. I do not know where Richard got the idea that the land belonged to his father. For many years there was no problem because everyone knew the truth. It is only now that these accusations are coming up,” she said.
Chief Mutasa subsequently adjourned the matter to a later date to allow the village head and other witnesses to be called to testify.
