Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe, who died in September, left $10 million and some properties in the capital, but no will naming his beneficiaries, details of his estate published by the state-owned newspaper the Herald showed on Tuesday.
Zimbabweans have speculated for years about the extent of Mugabe’s wealth, with many assuming that he and his family amassed a vast fortune during his 37 years in power.
Mugabe’s daughter Bona Chikowore wrote in October to the Master of the High Court seeking to register her father’s estate, the Herald reported. It listed assets including $10 million held in a local bank, four houses in Harare, 10 cars, one farm, his rural home, and an orchard.
One of the properties is the palatial home known as Blue Roof in an upmarket suburb of the capital where Mugabe lived. The list does not include several farms that he reportedly owned or a dairy business he ran with wife Grace or any properties outside Zimbabwe.
Under Zimbabwean laws, the estate of a person who dies without a will is distributed between their spouse and children.
Mugabe’s lawyer Terrence Hussein, however, asked the court to register the estate, saying he and the family had not found any will left by Zimbabwe’s founding leader.
“Thus far, we have not been able to locate a will, but have sent out inquiries to other law firms, although the family members are not aware of any,” Hussein wrote in a letter to the High Court that was quoted by the Herald.
CREDIT: PMNews
