Moffat Mungazi
Lovemore Kadzura
Weekender Reporter
A MAKONI villager, Philip Jindu, is stranded with the belongings of a woman who sold him a plot, but died before vacating the premises.
Despite a court order, the late Ensilda Mupereka had refused to vacate the plot which Jindu had purchased, and registered in his son’s name.
Mupereka had also sold the same plot to another buyer. Jindu dragged Mupereka to Rusape Civil Court where she was ordered to vacate the plot.
However, she defied the court order, and remained on the plot until her death.
Her relatives are now refusing to remove her belongings, preventing Jindu from fully occupying and utilising the plot.
A distraught Jindu told Chief Makoni’s community court last Friday that the late Ensilda’s relatives, including her brother, Fradrick Mapedzamombe, were refusing to remove her belongings from the plot.
“On August 8, 2024, Ensilda Mupereka passed on. Her relatives, the Mapedzamombes came and buried her. They packed her clothes (kusunga mbatya), and promised to comeback and distribute the estate. We agreed that they were supposed to carry out the process before September 30, 2024 because Ensilda had sold her plot to me.
“The Mapedzamombes went for good and never returned. They locked the doors of one of her houses, and the clothes are in a hut without a door. I now want to use the plot which I bought from the deceased. I have an agreement of sale I signed with the late Ensilda. I also have a valid permit.
“Ensilda was not a straight forward person because she sold the plot to me, but went on to sale it to another unsuspecting person. When I discovered that, I dragged her to court, and she was ordered to vacate the plot. The court ruled that I am the legitimate owner of the plot. Instead of vacating the plot as per the court order, she went on to construct a kitchen hut in which her relatives left her belongings,” said Jindu.
In response, Mapedzamombe initially said they cannot distribute Ensilda’s estate because she was a married woman, and culturally the estate belongs to her husband.
He later shifted goalposts, claiming that before her death, Ensilda had told them not to distribute her estate upon death.
“Ensilda is my sister and she was a married woman with her own family. We are not disputing that she sold the plot. We do not have much say as the father in-laws to Ensilda’s husband. What we know is that she died at her plot. Ensilda has grown up children, including the last one who is in jail.
“There is a mixture of Ensilda’s estate, her husband and their children clothes are at the plot. They are packed in one place. This is the reason why we could not touch our son in-law’s things. Before she died, Ensilda instructed us not to distribute her estate,” claimed Mapedzamombe.
In his ruling, Chief Makoni said the Mapedzamombes were trying to hide behind a finger and advised Jindu to throw away the clothes or to donate them to charity.
“The judgment from the civil court is very clear. Ensilda was evicted from the plot and further barred from setting her foot there. Her relatives are in agreement with that. If it was US$1 million left by your sister would you refuse to accept it?
“Jindu, you can donate the clothes to charity if the Mapedzamombes do not want to come and collect them. You can also hire the messenger of this court or from the magistrates’ court to remove the property from your plot.
“According to the law, the plot belongs to Jindu, and according to our tradition, her relatives should distribute her estate, but they are refusing. Dare harina zvinoera (there is nothing sacred before this court),” ruled Chief Makoni.
