Tuesday, January 28, 2025 - Tonderai Mugabe, a man claiming to be the secret son of the late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, has dropped his inheritance lawsuit in the High Court after a failed attempt to challenge the former President’s estate.
Tonderai sought recognition as a legitimate heir to the
Mugabe estate, naming Bona Mugabe, the late President's daughter and the
estate’s executor, as the defendant in his legal action. He also requested
access to Mugabe's death certificate, intending to invoke provisions of the
Administration of Estates Act.
However, his case encountered significant legal hurdles,
including missing the six-week deadline to challenge the Master of the High
Court’s decision. Justice Chitapi dismissed his reliance on the Mugabe surname,
ruling that merely adopting the name did not grant legal status as a
descendant. Realizing the case's weakness, Tonderai’s lawyer requested a brief
adjournment, after which he decided to withdraw the suit and agreed to pay
legal costs. Justice Chitapi described the case as “fatally defective” and accepted
its withdrawal, noting that pursuing the lawsuit further would have been a
waste of time and resources.
The defence, led by Bona Mugabe’s lawyer, Mr Chinake, argued
that the estate had already been finalized and distributed, leaving no room for
reopening it. Additionally, Tonderai’s evidence, including DNA results and a
birth certificate, was rejected as unreliable and not meeting the standards
required by the Civil Evidence Act.
Tonderai had claimed to have been born in 1977 at the
Chimoio base in Mozambique during the liberation war and alleged that his
mother, Hilda Maeka, had a secret relationship with Robert Mugabe. Despite
these claims, the court found his evidence insufficient, effectively ending his
legal challenge to the Mugabe legacy.
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