There may be complications and delays in winding up the estate of late businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure as the will submitted this week is unsigned, with the Master’s Office at the High Court now calling a meeting of family members and other potential beneficiaries for next week to sort out the way forward and deal with administrative details such as the appointment of the executor.
It is understood, although this cannot be confirmed, that
the bulk of the estate, including the businesses and Domboshava mansion are to
be assigned to a trust under the unsigned will although there are individual
beneficiaries, including it is said someone called “KIT KAT” who is the listed
heir of Kadungure’s Lamborghini vehicle.
The will would probably make it clear who would be sharing
the revenue from the proposed trust as well as who would be the trustees, or at
least how these would be appointed.
Generally the wishes of a dead person expressed in a will
are followed, although the law makes provision for the continued maintenance of
those being looked after by the estate before the death, along with other
concerns.
The picture collage shows Genius “Ginimbi’’ Kadungure’s
Domboshava mansion and his fleet of fast and expensive cars. A Harare man, Mr
Nomatter Zinyengere, claiming to be Mr Kadungure’s best friend, this week
registered the deceased’s estate and unsuccessfully tried to push the Master of
High Court into accepting the unsigned will.
Although Genius’s father Anderson Kadungure and sisters
Juliet and Neria were listed as possible beneficiaries of the estate, Mr
Zinyengere has been leading the legal process.
It was not immediately clear if Mr Zinyengere was
“KIT-KAT”. An online check identified Zinyengere as the director of a South
African registered company called KAT Group, which was incorporated in August
2019.
The will shows that Kadungure owned the Domboshava mansion,
a company called Infinity Gas, an undisclosed fleet of vehicles and several
other companies.
The custodians of the unsigned will, Ranros Estate
Administrators, wrote a cover letter seeking the speedy acceptance of the
unsigned document as the actual last will and testament for the distribution of
the estate.
They argued that some of Kadungure’s companies in Botswana
have stopped operating since that country requires an estate to be reported to
the authorities before operations can resume.
“The deceased died before signing his last will and
testament. We are therefore kindly asking your office to urgently convene a
meeting with all beneficiaries so that you can accept the will and issue the
court sealed letters of administration.
“The deceased had a running business in Botswana and it
stopped operations on November 9, 2020. The laws of that country require the
estate to be reported to the Master of High Court within 14 days so that
operations will resume.
“The major fear of the beneficiaries is that the business
partners of the deceased in Botswana might take advantage and vandalise the
assets of the deceased,” reads part of the letter.
However, the Office of the Master through a letter signed
by K F Chigomararwa, an Additional Master of High Court in-charge of the
Deceased Estates, refused to be pushed into accepting the unsigned will.
Instead, she asked the Kadungure family members and other
beneficiaries to attend a meeting on Wednesday next week.
“We are, however, not convinced by the reason, given that a
company is a separate legal persona from its owner and that same is usually run
by directors. Thus, in our view, the death of the shareholder or a director
does not necessarily affect the day-to-day running of a company.
“We, however, we will convene the inquiry, with regards to
the will on Wednesday November 25, 2020, at 11.30am at this office, before the
undersigned.
“Depending on the outcome of the inquiry, the issue of
executorship may also be discussed. “Kindly notify the deceased’s family and
interested parties of the said meeting in order that they may attend,” reads
the response.
Efforts to get official confirmation of the developments
from the Master of High Court Mr Eldard Mutasa failed. Mr Mutasa refused to comment
on the issue.
Sources said the unsigned will state the Domboshava
mansion, while part of the proposed trust, should be turned into a hotel to be
run by the trustees.
Ginimbi died on the spot on November 8 along Liberation
Legacy Way in Harare when his speeding Rolls Royce collided head-on with a
Honda Fit.
It veered off the road and hit a tree before catching fire.
He was with two foreigners who had come for the Saturday night party of a
friend Mitchelle Amuli.
Limumba Karim from Malawi and a Mozambican, who was only
identified as Alishia and the birthday girl, Mitchelle were burnt beyond
recognition after the doors of the Rolls Royce jammed on impact and it took
many hours for police and the Fire Brigade to retrieve their remains from the
wreckage. Herald
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