The long-standing legal battle over the estate of the late former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe took a decisive turn this week after the High Court dismissed a fresh claim by a man alleging to be Mugabe’s biological son.
Tonderayi Gabriel Mugabe approached the court seeking to reopen the estate case (Estate DR 2703/19), arguing he was wrongfully excluded from the distribution of the late leader’s vast assets. He claimed to be Mugabe’s son, born in Mozambique in 1977 to a woman named Hilda Maeka.
Represented by lawyer Muchivete Hungwe, Tonderayi asked the court to set aside the Master of the High Court’s 2020 decision to close the estate. But High Court judge Justice Fatima Maxwell struck down the application, citing a “grossly inordinate delay” and “lack of credible evidence.”
“The delay is inordinate, and the explanation given for it is not satisfactory,” said Justice Maxwell in her ruling, noting the application came more than four years after the estate was closed.
Tonderayi submitted revised identity documents, affidavits from relatives, and DNA evidence purportedly showing a genetic link to someone named Lawrencia Mugabe. However, the judge found these documents inadequate to prove a direct biological link to the late president.
“None of the annexures take the applicant’s case anywhere,” the court stated. “In fact, the inclusion of the father’s details on a birth certificate is considered legal proof of paternity. The absence of such during Mugabe’s lifetime suggests a lack of acknowledged relationship.”
Justice Maxwell also dismissed the significance of the 2022 re-registration of Tonderayi’s birth certificate, in which his surname was changed to “Mugabe.”
“The law does not permit a near relative to claim paternity on behalf of the father posthumously under such circumstances,” she ruled.
The court criticized Tonderayi for filing the application in 2025, despite the estate’s closure in 2020, and for failing to present a consistent or compelling timeline to justify the delay.
“Erroneous proceedings do not pause the legal timeframe for applications of this nature,” Maxwell added.
The ruling further stated that reopening the estate would prejudice current beneficiaries, including Mugabe’s daughter Bona Nyepudzayi Mugabe, who has been managing the estate and was represented in court by lawyer Addington Chinake of Kantor & Immerman.
“The balance of convenience favours the dismissal of this application,” the judge concluded, ordering Tonderayi to pay costs.
The ruling effectively closes the door on further legal attempts to challenge the distribution of Mugabe’s estate unless new and compelling evidence surfaces.
