Fidelis Munyoro
Zimpapers Writer
IN a saga that has shaken the bedrock of family ties and echoed through the country’s mining corridors, the High Court has delivered a verdict that Wambutso Donald Makoni must vacate the eight lucrative Tumai mining claims he once managed on behalf of his father.
The ruling, handed down by Justice Maxwell Takuva, marks a dramatic climax in a bitter dispute between father and son – a tale woven with allegations of betrayal, misappropriation and a battle over legal authority.
At the heart of the storm stands Donald Sarudzai Makoni, a miner now navigating life after a debilitating stroke.
Despite his physical limitations, the elder Makoni made it clear, his mind remains alert, and he will not be stripped of what he rightfully owns.
“He may have suffered a stroke, but his mind is sharp,” declared Justice Takuva in a firm tone that echoed across the courtroom.
“Mental clarity does not vanish with physical affliction. The applicant remains fully competent to revoke the power of attorney and to seek redress through the courts.”
It was that revoked legal authority, a special power of attorney once granted to Wambutso to manage the family’s mining interests, that became the epicentre of the legal earthquake.
The court heard that Wambutso, acting under the now revoked arrangement, allegedly sold off some of the mining claims and pocketed a US$20,000 deposit, all without his father’s knowledge or consent.
The elder Makoni, upon discovering the transactions, swiftly moved to reclaim control, tearing up the power of attorney and demanding his son vacate the claims.
But Wambutso refused to budge.
He argued that his father’s physical condition rendered him incapable of managing legal affairs, and therefore invalidated the revocation.
He even suggested that a court-appointed curator should have taken over his father’s legal decisions.
Justice Takuva was unequivocal in his dismissal of that argument.
“The law does not presume mental incompetence from physical disability,” he ruled.
“The applicant’s capacity to instruct legal counsel and to revoke the power of attorney stands unshaken.
“The first respondent no longer holds any legitimate claim to the property.”
In a sweeping judgment that reasserts the sanctity of property rights, even within families, the court ordered Wambutso and any others occupying the mining site under his name to vacate within 14 days.
“No one, not even a son, can continue to hold property once the legal basis for doing so has been withdrawn,” Justice Takuva said.
“The rightful owner cannot be dispossessed of his property by those who lack authority.”
Should Wambutso fail to comply, the Sheriff will enforce the eviction. In addition, he has been ordered to bear the full legal costs of the proceedings.
The case, observers say, serves as a cautionary tale in both legal and familial terms — a reminder that trust, once broken, can lead to courtroom reckonings.
For the Makoni family, the judgment draws a heavy curtain on a painful episode.
What began as a partnership between father and son has ended in court-ordered separation, with the mines and the gold they yield, returning to the hands of the man who first staked the claim: Donald Sarudzai Makoni.
The ruling not only restores ownership but reaffirms a foundational legal principle that power entrusted must never be abused, and that even blood ties cannot override the rule of law.
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