FIRST LADY TALKS INHERITANCE: Page 3

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa acknowledges cheers from the crowd during an interaction with widows and orphans on inheritance and property rights in Masvingo yesterday. She is flanked by Minister of State for Masvingo Cde Ezra Chadzamira (centre) and Master of the High Court Mr Eldard Mutasa (right). - Picture by John Manzongo

WIDOWS and orphans in Masvingo have hailed First Lady Amai Auxilia Mnangagwa for coming up with an eye-opening programme where they are being equipped with knowledge on property rights and inheritance law.

Amai Mnangagwa came up with the programme of interacting with widows and orphans after receiving calls and visits from the widows who lost their properties and were evicted following the death of their spouses due to ignorance of the law.

This prompted her to engage representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, Master of the High Court, Law Society of Zimbabwe and Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) so as to raise awareness on property and inheritance issues.

The First Lady has so far met with widows and orphans in Harare, Midlands and Masvingo provinces and the programme will spread to the remaining provinces.

Leader of the Catholic Widows’ Association in Masvingo Mrs Minah Mandaba said there was dire need to educate the widows and orphans on how the law worked when it came to inheritance, and praised the First Lady for coming up with the educative interaction, which she said would benefit women in the country.

Addressing widows and orphans at Masvingo Polytechnic, Amai Mnangagwa said most women were not conversant with the laws of inheritance, hence her involvement in bringing experts.

“I am here today in Masvingo to discuss family inheritance issues, deceased estates administration in the event of death of a spouse,” she said.

“Most women have lost their properties following the death of their husbands because of lack of knowledge and this has caused untold pain and sorrow to a lot of women.

“I started this programme in Harare after receiving grieving widows in my office because of these issues. Seeing that I had little knowledge on these issues, I then saw it fit to engage the team that I am moving around with so that they educate you on inheritance and property issues.”

The First Lady said most women did not know who to turn to when they encountered such problems of losing their properties following the death of their husbands.

She said that was why she invited all the departments that deal with family inheritance matters so that people ask questions and get assistance on how to handle the issues. “These offices where put in place by our Government led by President Mnangagwa so that they work with the public, therefore, I have brought them here for you to acquire knowledge and for them to know your grievances.

“This is an important meeting because most widows are suffering in silence without knowing where to go or who to turn to,” she said.

The First Lady, who is also the Ambassador of Women and Children’s Health, and has been visiting communities across Zimbabwe, promoting healthy living among citizens, also took time to educate the women on health issues.

She urged them to get checked for cervical and breast cancer, saying if detected early, it can be cured.

Amai Mnangagwa also spoke of cleanliness and hygienic practices to curtail the spread of water-borne diseases like cholera.

She engaged the women in an open discussion, pointing out the causes of cholera and how it could be prevented.

She also expressed concern on the rampant child marriage cases and appealed to parents to protect their female children against early marriages, saying it was destroying their future.

The First Lady said those found wanting will face the full wrath of the law.

Speaking at the same occasion, Mr Charles Manhiri from the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs talked about the Administration of Estates Act (Chapter 6:01), which he said was the major law in terms of which administration of deceased estate was done.

He defined inheritance as passing of property, title, debts, rights and obligations upon death of an individual and listed types of marriages, adding that the type of marriage determines how the inheritance issues should be handled.

He said the Administration of Estates Amendment Act No. 6 of 1997, which came into effect on November 1, 1997, brought changes to inheritance laws, especially under customary law, mainly in relation to identification of the major beneficiaries of the estate.

“Before it was amended, women in unregistered customary law unions did not inherit from the estates of their late customary law husbands unless there was a will,” he said

“The law now recognises unregistered customary law union as a full marriage for purposes of inheritance.”

“Due to many challenges faced by women and children after the death of a spouse in the different types of marriages, our ministry is in the process of aligning these laws to the Constitution and to harmonise the laws into one comprehensive Marriage Act.”

Master of the High Court Mr Eldard Mutasa said the law stipulated that people should register deceased estates within 14 days, failure to do so was a crime which attracted 30 days in prison or a fine.

He added that according to Section 10 of the Deceased Family and Maintenance Act, property grabbing was a criminal offence.

Mr Mutasa added that it was also a criminal offence for family members to distribute property of the deceased other than clothes, without the approval of the Master of the High Court. “It is important for people to be acquainted with deceased estate laws because knowledge is power. We also urged men to write responsible wills which do not sideline their spouses. People also need to know that registration of deceased estates is for free,” he said.

He said many widows were vulnerable, especially during grieving period such that their in-laws take advantage to loot the deceased’s estate.

Mr Jefter Chimwayi from the OPC, under the department of public affairs and knowledge management, told the widows how their office was open to receive their plights, adding that after receiving the grievances, they would then engage the relevant ministries for a way forward.

Ms Wadzanai Hwami represented the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Cde Ezra Chadzamira thanked the First Lady for the visit.