Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A BITTER inheritance dispute has erupted in Mutasa, where two generations of the same family are at loggerheads over the ownership of a homestead and piece of land left behind by a late relative.
The late Eustas Mukudu’s children, led by his eldest daughter, Anna Mukudu, dragged their uncle, Benji Mukudu, before Chief Mutasa’s community court last Saturday, accusing him of grabbing their late father’s property, rendering them homeless.
In her plea before the court, Anna said the family had exhausted all local avenues to reclaim what rightfully belonged to them before approaching the chief for recourse.
“I am begging this honourable court to order my uncle, Benjamin, to surrender our late father’s homestead and land back to us.
“The homestead is in Mberi Village in Zongoro. My father left it to us, his children, before he passed on. It was never meant to be taken by anyone else,” she said.
Anna said her uncle had agreed to temporarily occupy the homestead after her father briefly relocated to Buhera for work.
However, after Eustas’ death, Benji allegedly refused to vacate the property, insisting that it had been gifted to him.
“We trusted him because he was a family member. We thought that when we wanted to use the homestead, he would surrender it back to us, but he refused.
We approached the village head, but no solution was found,” she said.
Anna further claimed that her uncle had, not only taken over the homestead, but had also moved his grandchild onto the property, effectively displacing the deceased’s biological children.
“We are being treated like strangers on our father’s land. My uncle’s grandchild is staying comfortably at my father’s homestead while we have nowhere to go. It is painful,” she said.
However, Benji stood his ground, insisting that the homestead and land were rightfully gifted to him by his late brother, long before his death.
“These are my children because they are my brother’s children. But the truth is that my brother gifted me that homestead years before his death. He relocated to Buhera and told me to stay at the homestead,” he said, defending himself.
He told the court that he had stayed on the property for many years and raised all his seven children there.
“I have stayed there for decades. I built more structures and improved the place.
I don’t understand why they now want me to leave. If they can’t stomach me staying there, then they should come and destroy the homestead so that I can build my own,” he said defiantly, further arguing that the land originally belonged to their father, Francis Mukudu.
“The land belonged to our grandfather, Francis. When my uncle Eustas left for Buhera, he made it clear that he would never come back. We were still children and very young when all this happened, and now they have grown up and want to rewrite history,” said Benji’s son, Nhamo Mukudu, who spoke in defence of his father.
Nhamo claimed that his cousins only became interested in the property after their father’s death.
“We do not understand why they only started fighting for the homestead after their father’s death. If their father had any problems, he should have claimed it while he was still alive,” he told the court.
Anna, however, dismissed the claims as misleading and disrespectful to her late father’s legacy.
“Nhamo is lying. I am much older than him, and I remember everything that happened. My father never gifted that property to his father. He only allowed him to stay there temporarily,” she said, further alleging that Nhamo was selling portions of the family land without their consent.
“He has already started selling parts of the land that belonged to our late father. We cannot sit and watch while our inheritance is being destroyed,” said Anna.
The emotionally charged court session saw Chief Mutasa sternly rebuking Benji for holding onto property that was not his.
He reminded him that the late Eustas’ children were the rightful heirs to their father’s estate.
“These children are the direct beneficiaries of their father’s property. They have every right to claim that land and homestead. You do not hold any legal or traditional rights to your late brother’s property,” said Chief Mutasa, questioning why Benji had no written evidence to back up his claim that the house had been gifted to him.
“Do you have any papers to prove that such an agreement existed between you and your late brother? We want documentary evidence here, not mere words.
It is wrong to connive to disadvantage other people, especially your own late brother’s children,” he said firmly.
Chief Mutasa stressed that moral and cultural norms dictate that when a man dies, his estate automatically passes on to his children unless otherwise stated through a legally binding will or formal agreement.
“It is a fact that the house and land are not yours, but your late brother’s. No one has the right to dispossess his children of their inheritance,” ruled Chief Mutasa.
Chief Mutasa ordered that all family members should return to their respective portions of land inherited from their father — the late France Mukudu — to avoid further disputes.
“Each one of you should go back to the land that belongs to your father. I cannot deny these girls their father’s estate. Justice must prevail, and family unity must be restored through fairness and respect,” he said.
