Widow Forced Onto Streets After Second Wife Asserts Property Rights
A 71-year-old widow and four minor grandchildren were left sleeping outdoors in Dangamvura after being evicted from their longtime home by the Messenger of Court, following a decades-old legal dispute over a contested will.
The property in question — Number 144, Area 7, Dangamvura had been occupied by the late Major Kennedy Zvemisha and his first wife, Mrs Tessy Zvemisha, until his death in 1995.
Legal trouble began three months after Major Zvemisha’s passing, when his second wife, Mrs Eunice Zvemisha, presented a handwritten will allegedly naming her as the sole heir to the property.
Mrs Tessy, who resided in the house at the time of her husband’s death, disputes the will’s authenticity and asserts that Eunice was living in Chiredzi, with no residential ties to the Dangamvura home.
Attempts to resolve the matter have been clouded by irregularities.
In 2018, Marita Makahwi emerged claiming she had bought the property and initiated eviction proceedings despite unresolved litigation.
The development caught the Zvemisha family off guard.
By 2021, municipal water billing records had been altered to reflect Eunice’s name — a move the family says occurred without notice or approval.
According to The Manica Post, Mrs Tessy and her grandchildren spent eleven nights outside the home after the eviction, with furniture strewn across the yard as legal uncertainty dragged on.
The family says multiple wills surfaced bearing conflicting dates, prompting a visit to the Deeds Office, where they uncovered a prior legal matter involving the property.
Gertrude Zvemisha, daughter of the widow, alleges ongoing efforts to erase her mother’s claim to the house.
She pointed to a 2024 court filing that listed Makahwi as the buyer and named Eunice as a key respondent, triggering the most recent eviction push.
Despite the setback, Mrs Tessy and her grandchildren remain resolute in contesting the will’s validity and reclaiming the home they assert was their rightful matrimonial residence.
The matter remains before the High Court, as the family endures the consequences of a dispute that has disrupted their lives and challenged their inheritance.
