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Harare High Court
Daina Hwata v Vongai Hwata (in the capacity as the Executor Dative of Estate late Enos Hwata – DR636/02) and Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement and Master of High Court
HH 759-17
Case Details
Court
Harare High Court
Date
2 November 2017
Citation
HH 759-17
Neutral Citation
[2017] ZWHH 759
Outcome
unknown
Case Type
Application
Bench
Presiding
MWAYERA J
Full Bench
MWAYERA J
Areas of Law
Succession LawCustomary LawEstate Administration
Keywords
customary successionintestate estateheir at customary lawsurviving spouseestate reopening
Tags
customary law inheritanceestate administrationheirshipsurviving spouse rights
legislation
Statutes Cited
- Administration of Estates Act
- Primary Courts Act
- Deceased Estates Succession Act
- Constitution of Zimbabwe
ai analysis
Case Summary
Key Issues
- {"issue_text":"Whether the applicant has a cause of action to reopen the estate of late John Hwata","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Estate wound up 25 years ago, applicant is surviving spouse"}
- {"issue_text":"Whether Farm 119 Zowa Zvimba is an undistributed asset of John Hwata's estate","issue_type":"mixed","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Farm transferred to Enos Hwata by cession, estate properly administered"}
- {"issue_text":"Whether surviving spouse can inherit as heir under customary law applicable in 1991","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"John Hwata died before Act 6/97, customary law governed"}
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background
Facts of the Case
Background
The applicant, surviving spouse of late John Hwata who died intestate in 1991, sought a declaration that Farm 119 Zowa Zvimba was an undistributed asset of her late husband's estate that should devolve to her. The farm had been inherited by Enos Hwata, the eldest son and customary law heir, who administered the estate and transferred the farm to himself before his own death in 2016.
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