UZUMBA-MARAMBA-PFUNGWE — At a family cemetery in Jaji Village, some 280km north-east from Harare, is where the remains of Mutota Bafu were interred three years ago.
BY NDAMU SANDU
While his soul could be resting in eternal peace, his children have been literally living in hell as they fight-off predatory relatives for the homestead, which is 25 metres away from a gold claim.
Lilian Bafu and her husband, Tichatonga Sakawenga are homeless after their home was razed to the ground, as the fight to control the gold mill turned nasty recently. The two have found sanctuary at a nearby village about 10km away from the homestead.
Narrating her ordeal to The Standard recently, Lilian said about 30 menacingly looking men came to the homestead, threw out some property from the three-bedroomed house and demolished the building.
They came two days later and demolished a kitchen. “We cannot stay here as this place is always guarded. This is my parents’ home, but I am forced to look for accommodation elsewhere,” Lilian said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Her four children and three orphans they were taking care of are now staying with her elder sister, Mafungasei, who teaches at a nearby school.
Lilian, Mafungasei and Ingidzai are the surviving children of the late Bafu who passed on in December 2010.
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The three are now accusing Sunny Chabvundura, a close relative of masterminding their plight in order to gain control of the mining claim.
In this battle for the claim, traditional leaders, Chabvundura and Bafu’s estranged relatives seem to have “ganged’ up against his children, according to documents obtained last week.
The demolition of the houses was reported at Mtawatawa Police Station.
Chabvundura told The Standard that while he was the owner of the mine, he did not take part in the demolition of the houses. “I did not destroy the houses. They were destroyed by the owners of the homestead [the Bafus] who took away the property,” Chabvundura said. Chabvundura said he was married to Ingidzai’s aunt and problems arose after the death of Bafu.
Killian Bafu told The Standard that as per traditional practices, Ingidzai should not lay claim to the property, adding that Bafu’s relatives demolished the homestead and took away the property in line with their culture.
“Nhaka haigarwi nemwanasikana [a female child has no claim to inheritance],” he said. “In our tradition we say the wife and a male child should inherit. In this case, Bafu’s wife and the male child agreed to relocate to where we are staying,” he said.
In a letter seen by The Standard, Killian wrote to Chiriya accusing him of allegedly masterminding the arrest of Chabvundura and creating chaos in the family. “In my capacity as the eldest Bafu family member, let it be known that, you must keep away from my late brother’s Jaji homestead with immediate effect,” Killian said.
The Standard was told yesterday that Mutota had asked Chabvundura to register the claim. However, it is alleged, Chabvundura went behind Mutota’s back and registered the claim with the Mines and Mining Development ministry in his name, in 2010. Chabvundura denies the allegations.
When Mutota died, Chiriya and Ingidzai discovered that the claim had been registered in Chabvundura’s name, spawning a series of battles. The ministry then cancelled Chabvundura’s claim and registered Chipura Syndicate as the new owner in 2011.
The ministry recently gave Chipura notice to cancel its licence since it sits on a registered claim, adding that relatives and traditional leaders have all concurred that Chabvundura was the rightful owner of the claim. Chipura has already appealed against cancellation and indications are that the battle for the claim is far from over.
