By Desmond Chingarande
Harare lawyer Patricia Darangwa has approached the Supreme Court appealing against a provisional order by the High Court barring her from executing the estate of the late socialite Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure.
The High Court had granted an application filed by Kadungure’s family ordering her to stop handling the issue.
The order was granted by Justice Slyvia Chirawu-Mugomba, who noted some discrepancies in the way Darangwa was winding up the estate.
The family feels Darangwa filed an appeal to conduct further dissipation of Ginimbi’s estate.
The family also told the High Court that the balance of convenience favours that execution of the order of the court be granted as the appeal was unmerited.
Family lawyer Wellington Magaya accused Darangwa of rushing to the Supreme Court to “gratify her ends”.
Darangwa had filed that FNB Bank Botswana, holding some of Ginimbi’s funds, had given the family a moratorium of up to March 31 2021 to resolve the executorship and will validity issues.
It is alleged that demanding a know your customer (KYC) process on the deceased’s company’s account be done in seven days, failing which it shall without notice invoke loan recovery remedies available to it at law.
“There is no doubt this threatens the assets of the deceased’s company in which applicants have a well-grounded shareholding,” Magaya said.
He said the recent demand by the bank creates more urgency to get the litigation under HC136/21 finalised.
“The directorship and KYC issues digging the resumption of operations of the deceased’s company called Quick Gases(Pty) Ltd can only be permanently addressed if the court pronounces itself on the return day in HC136/21 on the validity or otherwise of Darangwa’s appointment as executrix and the document she produced as a will.”
Kadungure’s family is also accusing Darangwa of abusing court processes while using a fake will.
“I have no doubt the appeal by Darangwa has been filed to jam process in the matter in HC136/21. Darangwa has abused this court’s process to gratify her ends. The court has to register its displeasure and award costs of suit on a higher scale. On this question of coats she has to be reminded that all she has done or is doing is in terms of a document which is a nullity. The appeal is also a nullity in the circumstances,” Ginimbi’s sister Juliet Kadungure said in an affidavit.
She added that Darangwa would suffer no prejudice if the provisional order was executed and the process expedited.
“In fact, it is in the best interests of both parties therein that they know their fate in time so that the deceased’s estate takes a proper direction.”
The Kadungure family approached the court questioning the legitimacy of an unsigned will presented by Darangwa, and why she was appointed executor by Master of the High Court in the first place. NewsDay
What does she stand to lose from the High Court judgment? The family does not want to work with her, ngaasiyane nazvo!!!