News / National
Late Rex Nhongo's million dollar Estate: Children want their share
17 Nov 2014 at 06:21hrs | Views
CHILDREN of the late General Solomon Mujuru aka Rex Nhongo have written to the Master of the High Court seeking the registration of their late father's Estate saying they have suffered prejudice as a result of the delay by their embattled mum Joice Mujuru in registering the estate of her husband.
According to Section 5 (1) of the Administration of Estates Act, it is peremptory for immediate relatives of the deceased to notify the Master of the High Court's Office of the death through registration of the estate within 14 days.
But since General Mujuru's death in 2010, the estate that is believed to be worth millions of dollars has not yet been registered.
If the late general left a will, its existence and contents seem not to have been made available to all interested parties.
Some of the children and companies interested in the estate have written letters to the Master of the High Court inquiring as to why the estate remains unregistered years after the general's death.
Two of General Mujuru's children, Tawanda and Tsitsi Mujuru, wrote to the Master of the High Court towards the end of 2013 inquiring on whether or not the estate had been registered.Their mother,Simbiso Chisirimunhu, died in 2011.
Last year, guardians of Tawanda and Tsitsi, who are believed to be domiciled in the UK, were quoted in the media as saying the delay in distributing Mujuru's estate had left them struggling to provide for the two who were both not yet independent.
A lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the delay in registration of estates does not only affect family members left out in the cold, but also impacts negatively on the nation's economy.
"Failure to register and administer estates in time has negative effect on the performance of the economy in that it affects revenue collection," said the lawyer.
"Death duty, which is due to the fiscus also assists in raising revenue especially when the estate is worth lots of money."
Another lawyer noted that the practice could be widespread as people are abusing the fact that there is no provision for penalising those who do not comply with the peremptory requirement.
According to Section 5 (1) of the Administration of Estates Act, it is peremptory for immediate relatives of the deceased to notify the Master of the High Court's Office of the death through registration of the estate within 14 days.
But since General Mujuru's death in 2010, the estate that is believed to be worth millions of dollars has not yet been registered.
If the late general left a will, its existence and contents seem not to have been made available to all interested parties.
Some of the children and companies interested in the estate have written letters to the Master of the High Court inquiring as to why the estate remains unregistered years after the general's death.
Last year, guardians of Tawanda and Tsitsi, who are believed to be domiciled in the UK, were quoted in the media as saying the delay in distributing Mujuru's estate had left them struggling to provide for the two who were both not yet independent.
A lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the delay in registration of estates does not only affect family members left out in the cold, but also impacts negatively on the nation's economy.
"Failure to register and administer estates in time has negative effect on the performance of the economy in that it affects revenue collection," said the lawyer.
"Death duty, which is due to the fiscus also assists in raising revenue especially when the estate is worth lots of money."
Another lawyer noted that the practice could be widespread as people are abusing the fact that there is no provision for penalising those who do not comply with the peremptory requirement.
Source - Herald
