Grace Mugabe who is set to be appointed by the Master’s Office as executor to late former President Robert Mugabe’s Estate has included her own son from her previous marriage in the list of children to benefit from the late statesman’s estate.

Mrs Mugabe was listed as the sole surviving spouse while Bona, Robert Junior and Bellarmine Chatunga, Mugabe’s known children and Russel Goreraza her son from outside Mugabe’s marriage were listed as Mugabe’s surviving children.

THE family failed to locate an inheritance will for the distribution of the national hero’s estate, a development that has prompted the Master of High Court to call for an edict meeting this week to appoint an executor.

Mugabe died in Singapore on September 6 this year after battling prostate cancer for at least 13 years.

His daughter, Mrs Bona Nyepudzai Mutsahuni-Chikore, notified the Master’s Office on October 21 and disclosed that her father had US$10 million in a CBZ Bank nostro account and a number of immovable and movable properties.

The properties declared by Mrs Mutsahuni-Chikore are:

l House Number 129 Forbes

Road, Waterfalls

l Villa Number 65, Gunhill

l Number 27 Quorn Avenue,

Mt Pleasant

l Lot GB Helensvale and

Lot 1 of subdivision B of

Sub G of Helensvale

l Highfield Farm

l Zvimba rural farming plot

(about 5 acres)

l Zvimba rural home (one hectare)

l Zvimba orchard (about five

acres)

l 10 cars

To that end, the Master’s Office has invited the Mugabe family members and their lawyers to an edict meeting on Thursday to discuss the appointment of an executor.

Legal expert, Mr Caleb Mucheche of Caleb Mucheche & Partners Law Chambers, explained the procedure that is followed when handling an estate that does not have a will.

“The Master of High Court convenes an edict meeting for the relatives of the deceased to appoint an executor.

“If they fail to agree on an executor of their own, the Master will choose a neutral professional executor from a list kept at his office,” he said.

Mr Mucheche said siblings of the deceased or any other members of the extended family have no legal right to claim a share of the estate in the absence of a will including them as beneficiaries.

“An estate of a person who dies without a will is distributed to beneficiaries made up of his or her children and surviving spouse, under a monogamous civil marriage or surviving spouses if he was in a polygamous marriage under customary law.

“Brothers or sisters are not legally entitled to inherit if a person dies without a valid written will,” said Mr Mucheche.

He added: “Brothers and sisters can only inherit under a third tier if a person dies without a wife or children (primary beneficiaries) and his or her father or mother (secondary beneficiaries) are also late.”a