The ManicaPost
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Senior Reporter
Hundreds of people yesterday converged at Mutare Queens Hall for the First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa’s inheritance programmes aimed at raising awareness on inheritance issues.
The First Lady, after realising how widows, widowers and orphans were losing property upon the death of their spouses and parents, initiated the programme to educate them on their rights by bringing experts on inheritance issues who are equipping them with knowledge on legal matters.
The programmes have been conducted in Harare, Midlands, Masvingo, Mashonaland Central and West provinces, and have seen women coming out in their numbers.
Representing the First Lady, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the programme was not political but embraced everyone who was affected by inheritance disputes.
She hailed the First Lady for identifying a gap in the needs of the families left behind by the deceased and coming up with ways to address them.
“Many women have been left with nothing after losing their husbands because of lack of knowledge on the laws that protect them.
“The lack of information has been identified as the major hindrance in solving inheritance disputes and this is why the programme was established, to bring knowledge to the people,” she said.
She urged those in attendance to go and share the knowledge with others so that everyone could benefit from such programmes.
Speaking at the same event, Minister of State for Manicaland Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba hailed the programme which she said would help bring inheritance issues to the fore and help numerous families that have been torn apart by inheritance disputes.
“We should not leave out the widowers in this programme because men are also affected by inheritance disputes as much as the women and children,” she said.
She said nowadays, the extended family system has become defunct as families no longer took care of orphaned children, which has led to a large number of those children on the streets.
The Master of the High Court, officials from the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Law Society of Zimbabwe, Generations Executor Services among others also made presentations to educate the people on the law and how they can avoid inheritance disputes.
