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Tanyaradzwa Mujati
Weekender Reporter
A cheeky Mutare woman allegedly squandered the money that was meant for her late parents’ memorial and tombstone unveiling ceremony.
Having been cornered by her siblings who were demanding the money back, Cleopatra Mvura rushed to Mutare Civil Court to apply for a protection order against her brother, Leeroy Ngwenya.
Mutare magistrate, Ms Ivy Musavengana presided over the matter and granted the protection order.
Cleopatra said Leeroy has been visiting her place of residence, harassing, insulting and threatening to assault her.
She added that Leeroy also bars her from using her late parents’ property, insisting that she should seek approval from him first as he is the rightful heir to the property.
“My brother came to my place of residence and harassed me in the presence of my landlord. He wanted to assault me, but I was saved by my landlord. I am now living in fear of his endless threats. I want him barred from visiting my lodgings as I might be evicted because of his rowdiness,” said Cleopatra.
She said Leeroy is staying at the family house where he has declared a no-go area for his siblings.
“He stays at our late parents’ house. When I visit the house, I am not allowed to switch on the television or enjoy the comfort of the house. We are now scared of him because he wants to control everyone. He feels that he is the man of the house, which is not fair as we are all entitled to a share of our parents’ property.
“I once visited him with my boyfriend and he harassed him. I am over 30 years old and I deserve to be treated like a grown-up woman. He claims that he is the heir to our late parents’ property as he is the last born son in the family. I do not know which law states that,” she said.
Leeroy admitted visiting his sister at her lodgings, but said he only went there to collect the money that she had squandered.
He said the money was meant for their late parents’ memorial and tombstone unveiling ceremony to be held in December.
Leeroy said all the family savings for the ceremony were being kept by Cleopatra since the beginning of the year.
“We were keeping the money in a sealed tin. When we asked Cleopatra, who was the custodian of the tin, to open it, she started giving excuses till we resorted to the use of force. The family tin had a shortfall of US$300.“Cleopatra agreed to pay back the money by May but nothing has been paid up to now,” he said.
Leeroy said Cleopatra’s siblings decided to bar her from visiting their parents’ house until she clears the debt.
“Together with my other sisters, we resolved to bar Cleopatra from visiting our family house until she pays back the money. Her boyfriend pledged to pay back the money.
“He promised to pay US$100 every Friday, but since May, we haven’t received any cent. I visited her to collect the money after realising that she was not taking this issue seriously. I never had any intentions of harassing her, but to collect what is due to us,” he said.
But Cleopatra argued that the shortfall was as a result of miscalculations.
“I did not steal the money. I took US$150 to attend a funeral, but they are lying that I took US$300,” she said.
Online Reporter