There may be complications and delays in winding up the estate of late businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure as the will submitted this week is unsigned, with the Master’s Office at the High Court now calling a meeting of family members and other potential beneficiaries for next week to sort out the way forward and deal with administrative details such as the appointment of the executor.
It is understood, although this cannot be confirmed, that the bulk of the estate, including the businesses and Domboshava mansion, are to be assigned to a trust under the unsigned will although there are individual beneficiaries, including it is said someone called “KIT KAT” who is the listed heir of Kadungure’s Lamborghini vehicle.
The will would probably make it clear who would be sharing the revenue from the proposed trust as well as who would be the trustees, or at least how these would be appointed.
Generally, the wishes of a dead person expressed in a will are followed, although the law makes provision for the continued maintenance of those being looked after by the estate before the death, along with other concerns.
A Harare man, Mr Nomatter Zinyengere, claiming to be Mr Kadungure’s best friend, this week registered the deceased’s estate and unsuccessfully tried to push the Master of High Court into accepting the unsigned will.
Although Genius’s father Anderson Kadungure and sisters Juliet and Neria were listed as possible beneficiaries of the estate, Mr Zinyengere has been leading the legal process.
It was not immediately clear if Mr Zinyengere was “KIT-KAT”. An online check identified Zinyengere as the director of a South African registered company called KAT Group, which was incorporated in August 2019.
The will shows that Kadungure owned the Domboshava mansion, a company called Infinity Gas, an undisclosed fleet of vehicles and several other companies.
The custodians of the unsigned will, Ranros Estate Administrators, wrote a cover letter seeking the speedy acceptance of the unsigned document as the actual last will and testament for the distribution of the estate.
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| Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure |
“The deceased died before signing his last will and testament. We are therefore kindly asking your office to urgently convene a meeting with all beneficiaries so that you can accept the will and issue the court sealed letters of administration.
“The deceased had a running business in Botswana and it stopped operations on November 9, 2020. The laws of that country require the estate to be reported to the Master of High Court within 14 days so that operations will resume.
“The major fear of the beneficiaries is that the business partners of the deceased in Botswana might take advantage and vandalise the assets of the deceased,” reads part of the letter.
However, the Office of the Master through a letter signed by K F Chigomararwa, an Additional Master of High Court in-charge of the Deceased Estates, refused to be pushed into accepting the unsigned will.
Instead, she asked the Kadungure family members and other beneficiaries to attend a meeting on Wednesday next week.
“We are, however, not convinced by the reason, given that a company is a separate legal persona from its owner and that same is usually run by directors. Thus, in our view, the death of the shareholder or a director does not necessarily affect the day-to-day running of a company.
“We, however, we will convene the inquiry, with regards to the will on Wednesday November 25, 2020, at 11.30am at this office, before the undersigned.
“Depending on the outcome of the inquiry, the issue of executorship may also be discussed.
“Kindly notify the deceased’s family and interested parties of the said meeting in order that they may attend,” reads the response.
Efforts to get official confirmation of the developments from the Master of High Court Mr Eldard Mutasa failed. Mr Mutasa refused to comment on the issue.
Sources said the unsigned will state the Domboshava mansion, while part of the proposed trust, should be turned into a hotel to be run by the trustees.
Ginimbi died on the spot on November 8 along Liberation Legacy Way in Harare when his speeding Rolls Royce collided head-on with a Honda Fit.
It veered off the road and hit a tree before catching fire. He was with two foreigners who had come for the Saturday night party of a friend Mitchelle Amuli.
Limumba Karim from Malawi and a Mozambican, who was only identified as Alishia and the birthday girl, Mitchelle were burnt beyond recognition after the doors of the Rolls Royce jammed on impact and it took many hours for police and the Fire Brigade to retrieve their remains from the wreckage.
