The Manica Post

Banished from Marange

- Tendai Gukutikwa Weekender Reporter

A man was banished from the Marange communal area for emotionall­y and physically abusing his 96-year-old paternal grandmothe­r over inheritanc­e issues.

Chief Marange on Sunday banished Elias Chirozva from his area, amid allegation­s that he is in the habit of wishing for his grandmothe­r, Gogo Berita Mushipe’s early death.

Chirozva is also accused of threatenin­g to kill her if she does not pass to him “his” inheritanc­e.

As a result, Chirozva has been incessantl­y assaulting Gogo Mushipe.

However, Gogo Mushipe says she inherited the land in question from her late husband at a time when her grandson was staying in Buhera where he had been allocated land by another chief.

“When he heard that his grandfathe­r had died, he packed his bags and came back here.

“He demanded that I surrender the land to him. My son, who is his father, never set foot at my homestead.

“We acquired the land after my son (Elias’ father) had long moved to settle in Buhera with his wife and children. I do not understand how Elias is entitled to my property. After all, I have other children and grandchild­ren who are more entitled to that land than him,” she said.

“He wants to inherit my land but he knows that it will not happen as long as I am still alive, so he now he wants to kill me. He assaults me while telling me that I am taking too long to die. This disturbs me emotionall­y and physically. How can my own grandchild wish me dead?

“He calls me a prostitute and a witch. He sometimes insults me using derogatory English words that I do not understand. My life is now a living hell ever since he came back to Marange,”cried the elderly woman. Elias defaulted the court hearing. However, Chief Marange said he would not tolerate Chirozva’s behaviour in his area.

This was after his aide had told the court that when he approached Chirozva with court summons, he tore them up and attempted to assault him with the assistance of his wife.

Chief Marange ruled that Chirozva could not stay in Marange.

“The law says when someone dies, his or her spouse inherits his estate and it happened in this case, so my court does not understand why this man is insisting that he is his grandfathe­r’s heir. I no longer want to see him in the Marange area.

“Chirozva should go back to Buhera. Maybe the chiefs in Buhera can tolerate his behaviour. Murderers are not welcome in this area.

“By assaulting his grandmothe­r and teaming up with his wife to attack my aide, he clearly demonstrat­ed that he has declared himself a rebel and at war with me. We have no room for rebels in this area,” fumed Chief Marange.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Zimbabwe