The fight between the Mabirimisa children over the assets of their late father, bus owner Denga Mudzielwane Josiah Mabirimisa of Mabirimisa Bus Services, appears to be far from over.
When Mr Mabirimisa died in April 1998, he left many children behind from his three wives, who all feel that they were entitled to a share of their late father's estate. However, things became heated within the family when the children realised that their father's surviving spouse had been made the sole beneficiary of all his assets, including the proceeds of life insurance policies.
Azwihangwisi Elisana Mabirimisa, one of the deceased's daughters, was very upset that they could not access their father's assets because their brother, Tshililo Arnold Mabirimisa, who is the son of the late Mabirimisa's surviving wife (who is the sole beneficiary of the estate) claimed everything.
"As his legitimate children, we also want a share of our father's estate, but our brother Arnold excluded us. We went to the Thohoyandou High Court, only to discover that we were not included in the estate and decided to contest his (Arnold's) letter of executorship and everything was put on hold," she said.
"We are all born in wedlock, but our brother wants to take everything from us. My dad left a lot of wealth, including properties, cattle, policies, goats, orchards, a Mercedes Benz, a tractor, money and buses. I know this because we were a part of his family. Our mothers were also married to him, so all of this belongs to all of his children."
She said that they had been suffering since her dad had died and had become poor. "It shouldn't be like this because my father left us some wealth, which we cannot access because of our brother," said Elisana. She has vowed to fight to the bitter end to ensure they all get their rightful share of their father's assets.
When asked for comment, Arnold Mabirimisa said that his brothers and sisters were the ones who chose to deal with the issue through the court. "We respect and abide by my father's choice; therefore, we cannot comment on the merits of the issue, which is pending before a court of law for determination," he said. The family members are currently still waiting for a date when the matter can be heard in the High Court.