3 brothers jailed for contempt over house wrangle
THREE brothers involved in a house dispute with their aunts were this week slapped with a wholly-suspended three month jail term for contempt of court after they defied a court order evicting them from the family house in Tafara, Harare.
The wrangle over the house has now spilled into the High Court with Dr Maria Mafunga and her sisters Shelly and Debra seeking to remove the house from the estate of their late brother William Mafunga, father to the three brothers, claiming the house was fraudulently registered in his name.
They contend the house should instead have been part of the estate of their father, Gande Mafunga, and eventually been inherited by the three sisters as well as their brother.
In an application filed at the High Court, Maria, Shelly and Debra are the plaintiffs while brothers Lionel, Tinashe and Lincoln, plus the Master of High Court and City of Harare, the registering authorities, are listed as defendants.
The brothers were recently evicted from the house, but defied a court order and re-occupied the house, leading to their arrest.
On Wednesday, they appeared at Harare Magistrates Court and were convicted on their own pleas of guilty to contempt of court charges. They were sentenced to three months imprisonment wholly-suspended for three years on condition of good behaviour.
The brothers had claimed that Dr Maria Mafunga wanted to illegally remove them from the house.
Dr Maria Mafunga and her sisters are seeking a declaratory order that Stand 7082 Tafara Township, Tafara, Harare, does not form part of the assets of the estate of the late William Mafunga under DR No.1987/23.
They also want the court to set aside the cession that gave their brother and now his sons the right to the house and that the cession be declared null and void.
The sisters are also seeking an order directing the City of Harare to cancel the transfer of the house from the late Gande Mafunga to the late William Mafunga and that the house be declared an asset of the estate of the late Gande Mafunga.
They want the court to compel the Master of High Court to set aside the decisions and authorities made, if any, relating to the transfer and an order that the Master reopen the estate of the late Gande Mafunga, and “shall administer the same in accordance with the law”.
They claimed that their father, the late Gande Mafunga, the property and at all material times, they have known the property as their father’s only immovable property. They also argue that they consider the property as their only home. They grew up on the property. Further, they have been in possession of this property since the passing on of their father.
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