Chinotimba in House Ownership Wrangle
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...By SARAH NCUBE
Published: September 18, 2009
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ZIMBABWE – GWERU – Self styled war veteran Joseph Chinotimba is embroiled in a fight with a 49-year-old widow and her four children that have been living in the open for more than a month after the family house was allegedly sold in controversial circumstances by the executor following the death of her husband five years ago.
The widow, Jessie Muzanya, was served with an Eviction Notice in August by the Deputy Sheriff.
Things came to a boiling point on Tuesday when the wrangle over the ownership of the house in Gweru’s Branckenhurst Plots sucked in war veterans leader and trade unionist, Cde Joseph Chinotimba, who claimed to be the new owner.
A writ of ejectment, a copy of which is in the hands of zimGossip.com , revealed that the controversial house was bought by one Simbarashe Godwin Madzima and Nigel Masimba Madzima (the two are father and son).
When zimGossip.com got to the house Chinotimba was brandishing a pistol threatening to effect instant justice if Muzanya did not remove her property, which is still within the yard.
“Kana kuchifa munhu, kunotofiwa nhasi (removing his gun from its belt). Pano panotofiwa chete,” he said.
Chinotimba then went on to give the pistol to one of his two uniformed security guards he had brought from Harare.
The guards, one of them armed with the pistol, are still at the property in question standing guard.
Chinotimba had also brought with him a white T-35 truck with the intention of loading and ferrying Muzanya’s property to an undisclosed destination.
Muzanya pleaded with Chinotimba not to involve himself in matters that did not concern him.
However, Chinotimba claimed that he was in possession of title deeds and residents who had gathered to offer support to their neighbour asked him to produce the documents but he reacted angrily.
“Unoita basa rei unondibvunza ma title deeds? Who are you any away?”
The residents, who also included friends and relatives of Muzanya, told Chinotimba to leave if he did not have proof that he was the new owner of the house.
“When I saw you arrive I thought you had come to assist me fight for my house. I have always known you as someone who fights for the downtrodden. Where do you expect me to go with the children,” pleaded Muzanya.
At that point Chinotimba told Muzanya that he would take her to minda murefu (resettlement) where he would organise a stand for her.
“Please VaChinotimba I have a skin disease which does not allow me to be exposed to the sun’s heat. How do you expect me to cope? I am not going anywhere. I am prepared to die in defence of my house. I worked hard to build the house as this stand was a forest when we first came here in 1989. If you want you can shoot me,” said Muzanya in tears.
She said she was left within the yard by the Messenger of Court on humanitarian grounds after they discovered that she had a skin disease.
Chinotimba then ordered the truck driver to reverse and start loading Muzanya’s property.
People power then came to the fore when residents who had come out in their numbers in support of their neighbour warned Chinotimba against touching Muzanya’s property unless he wanted to court trouble.
Sensing that things were getting out of hand, Chinotimba told the crowd that he was going to the police and that they would pay for their actions.
He returned after about two hours with three uniformed police officers and took Mrs Muzanya to the Police Station together with her eldest son, Wayze Muzanya.
Mrs Muzanya’s late husband Charles Muzanya, who had two wives at the time of his death, had left a Will instructing the second wife who resides at another plot in Mutare to sell the Gweru plot and offset his debts.
The Will, also left the bulk of his Estate to the second wife.
The same Will refused to acknowledge Mrs Muzanya as the late Mr Muzanya’s wife.
In 2006, Mrs Muzanya however contested the Will in the High Court, which then declared that the late Mr Charles Muzanya’s Will was invalid and ordered the executor not to go ahead and sell the house since it was a matrimonial home.
“My problem started in 2005 when I appealed to the courts to declare my late husband’s Will invalid. The executor took advantage and went ahead and sold the house without my knowledge. I could have accepted it if I had received a cent of the money,” she said.
Acting Midlands police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed receiving a report involving a house in Brackenhurst.