Rufaro wants the State to reopen the estate, following
irregularities in the execution process, which include the appointment of
Gula-Ndebele as the executor.
Gula-Ndebele’s administration of the estate has divided the
late national hero’s children, with some being accused of working in cahoots
with him to fraudulently benefit from the estate when they were not his
biological children.
The divisions have prompted the family to call for a
roundtable meeting with parties involved to discuss Shiri’s estate.
In response to calls for a roundtable meeting, through her
lawyers Tapera Muzana and Partners, Rufaro wrote a letter dated May 20, 2022
demanding to know the agenda of the meeting before she agrees to attend.
“We refer to the above matter and your letter dated May 5,
2022, which was served upon our law firm on May 9, 2022. We forwarded your
letter to our client and she advised us to respond as follows: She is kindly
asking you to take the issue that we have mutual interest, thus will enable us
to prepare all the necessary paperwork before the round table meeting.”
Some of Shiri’s family members doubt the authenticity of
the documents that were being used by the Master of the High Court, Eldard
Mutasa, to handle Shiri’s empire.
They claim some documents had forged government
letterheads. The matter was reported to the police last year under ER5/2021 for
investigation.
Contacted for comment, national police spokesperson
Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was yet to check the progress on the
matter.
“I need to check on that,” Nyathi said.
“Right now, I am in Victoria Fall attending an event.”
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) last year
also opened another investigation under case reference number HCR 116-09-21
into the alleged illegal sale of the late Shiri’s assets by his daughters
Cynthia and Tatenda, reportedly in connivance with Tawanda Zulu and Stephan
Tanaka Musvamhiri, who are listed as children to the late national hero in the
overall estate distribution.
Zacc spokesperson John Makamure yesterday confirmed that
the investigations were still on.
“We confirm that the commission is investigating
allegations of sale of assets belonging to the late minister. Investigations
are in progress,” Makamure said.
Rufaro is challenging the inclusion of Zulu and Musvamhiri
on the estate, claiming that their paternity was in dispute.
Rufaro says Gula-Ndebele was his father’s lawyer at the
time of his death, raising questions why he was then appointed executor dative
and testamentary; that is, an executor who is appointed by the relevant court
in cases where a deceased individual did not leave a valid will and, therefore,
died intestate.
“It’s interesting to note that he insists and claims he was
my father’s lawyer when everything else suggests he was not and I know he
wasn’t,” Rufaro told NewsDay.
“In 20-2014, my late father took Brian Tarisai Kambasha and
Hemingworth Cartwright (Pvt) Ltd to court, file record of the case being HH
36-17 CA 270/15, in which my father was represented by the National Prosecuting
Authority (State) or had State attorneys representing him. A question to ask (is)
where was Mr Sobusa Gula-Ndebele? Certainly, the case was not a State issue,
but rather personal,” she said.
“The case was to do with a contract that was signed for a
solar plant installation at Hopedale Farm in Bindura, that was to start off
with a 100kVA installation that would later on see the same company installing
a 600kVA plant on completion of the project. The second question is: When the
contract was signed, where was he and why did my father opt to do the paperwork
without a lawyer when he had a lawyer?”
She also accused Tatenda and Cynthia of allegedly conniving
with Gula-Ndebele to fraudulently administer the late Shiri’s estate.
Gula-Ndebele, Rufaro said, was reportedly making efforts to
frustrate the reopening of the estate, including intimidating her lawyers.
“The Master of the High Court should explain how Mr
Gula-Ndebele became executor,” Rufaro averred.
“The two Shiri ladies, Tatenda and Cynthia, are now working
in cahoots with Mr Gula-Ndebele. Why would they invite Gula-Ndebele, who was
fired from the Attorney-General’s Office under unclear circumstances? Why would
they confirm him as executor when they had everything to lose if they entrust
their father’s estate to an individual like (that)?”
Repeated efforts to get a comment from Gula-Ndebele were in
vain because he was not answering calls.
Contacted for comment, Zulu curtly said he was not aware of
the row over the estate.
“I am not aware of anything,” Zulu said and hung up his
phone.
Cynthia also said she had no comment on the matter.
“It’s my first time to hear about this,” Cynthia said. “I
have nothing to say.”
But Tanaka insisted that she was Shiri’s biological
daughter and she trusted Gula-Ndebele as the legally appointed executor.
“Actually, I am wondering why it has taken so long for this
estate to be administered and close the case,” Tanaka said.
“I am the youngest child of the late minister and his every
other child came to the Shiri family the same way I did. I am ready to redo the
DNA test to prove that I am his child. However, it is not fair for another
child to doubt my paternity when I have not questioned theirs.
“We are all equal as his children. I even think that every
other child of our father should do DNA tests so that the truth comes out. The
matter has been going on for long and there is need for it to be closed.
Personally, I am ready to leave the Shiri family if I am not his daughter, but
I am very confident of my paternity.”
Mutasa allegedly considered Shiri’s 1995 will in listing
the beneficiaries of his estate, where he bequeathed 50% of his bank savings,
insurance policies to his now late son Titus and the other half of savings to
his children Tatenda and Cynthia Shiri, and all his other children who were yet
to be born.
A death notice filed at the Master’s Offices indicated that
three more children: Zulu, Rufaro and Tanaka were also listed as beneficiaries
of Shiri’s estate.
Rufaro, however, claimed that the late minister had
disregarded the will after registering a family trust with her as executor.
She argued that Zulu and Tanaka, whom she alleged only
showed up after her father’s death, should not be included in the
administration of the estate until the paternity disputes have been resolved.
“Both Tanaka and Tawanda are accomplices,” Rufaro said.
“They have no scientific proof to prove their relationship with the late
Perrance Shiri and I believe they have been planted in the estate as agents to
loot for probably Tatenda and Cynthia’s benefit in the distribution exercise,
so all of them should be arrested. The leadership of this country has made it
clear that no one is above the law and there is no room for corruption.”
Newsday
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