Of wills and testamentary dispositions

Recently, social media has been awash with the late Genius (Ginimbi) Kadungure Estate wrangle pitting one estranged attorney Darangwa and the family elders. The fight owes to the ambiguity surrounding a testamentary will that is touted to be the late Genius last will and testament in the hands of the ‘executrix’, one Ms Darangwa. An urgent chamber High Court application was made by the family members in a bid to stop Darangwa from disposing of the late Ginimbi’s Lamborghini in fraudulent and unprocedural means and without consent and approval from the Master of the High Court as per the proviso in our succession laws. This piece is not a critique of who gets what or whether the will is actually the deceased’s intent but, a heads up on what members of the public should be wary of after executing a will.

What is a will?

A will is generally defined as a legal document that serves the purpose of expressing the desires of the deceased concerning the distribution of their property after they have died. This is premised in our property law which entitles one the right to dispose of their property as they wish and that right extends even on the day, they meet their maker. In the recent Chigwada case, the Constitutional Court was quick to emphasise that section 71 of our constitution is the basis of executing a will as it allows one to choose what happens to their property when they die . This right cannot be taken away from an individual merely by death. However, such right may be tampered with where the original copy of the will is in doubt or is in the hands of a criminal.

Who keeps the original copy of a will?

This is the prime focus of this article. Where the original copy of a will is kept rests on the individual who deposes or writes the will. One can give it to a trusted third party (relative, child spouse, friend, reverend, pastor or any trusted individual. Alternatively, where one was assisted by a lawyer to draft a will, such lawyer can keep that will with the consent of the owner and on agreed terms. Courts can also keep wills on behalf of members of the public for a certain fee. All these are the security measures aimed at avoiding contestations over authenticity of a will, forgery and other fraudulent criminal malpractices that can disadvantage intended beneficiaries .

In the event of death, such third party or the attorney will then register such will with the Master of the High Court who will then carry out the security checks subject to the provisions of our Wills Act [Chapter 6:06] on section 8.

It is therefore imperative for members of the public to guard against a situation where anonymous or strange individuals pop up from nowhere ,suggesting suspicious wills before relatives of the deceased. The reason for the security of the original will vests on the fact that, when successful, criminals may pounce on unsuspecting relatives of the deceased , pillaging and looting from an Estate they should not lay hands on.

Munashe Gutu is a final year law student at the University of Zimbabwe

He writes in his personal capacity.

Twitter @barrister_gutu

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