The long-running legal dispute over the estate of the late former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe has taken another dramatic turn, with the High Court throwing out an application by a man claiming to be Mugabe’s son.
Tonderayi Gabriel Mugabe approached the court seeking to reopen the estate (Estate DR 2703/19), arguing that he had been unjustly excluded from the distribution of Mugabe’s assets.
Represented by lawyer Muchivete Hungwe, Tonderayi requested permission to challenge the Master of the High Court’s decision to finalise and close the estate in December 2020.
However, High Court judge Justice Fatima Maxwell dismissed the application, citing an “inordinate delay” and lack of credible evidence.
“The delay is inordinate, and the explanation given for it is not satisfactory,” Justice Maxwell said in her ruling. The court noted that the application had been filed in February 2025, more than four years after the estate was closed.Tonderayi claimed he was born in 1977 in Mozambique to Hilda Maeka and was the biological son of the late president.
He submitted DNA test results, a revised birth certificate, and affidavits from relatives in an effort to support his case. But the court was not convinced.
“None of the annexures take the applicant’s case anywhere,” Justice Maxwell stated. “The inclusion of the father’s details on a birth certificate is proof of acknowledgement of paternity. The exclusion, therefore, when the birth certificate was obtained during the lifetime of the alleged father, is a clear indication that paternity was not acknowledged.”
A DNA report submitted by Tonderayi suggested a sibling relationship with an individual named Lawrencia Mugabe. However, the judge said this fell short of establishing a direct biological link to the late president.
“What it shows is that he might have been sired by one of the males related to the person who was tested,” the court noted.
The judge also dismissed the 2022 re-registration of Tonderayi’s birth certificate, which changed his surname to Mugabe, as insufficient to prove paternity.
“The law does not allow a near relative to come forward and acknowledge paternity on behalf of a father in circumstances such as this,” Justice Maxwell said.
The court further criticised Tonderayi for failing to take timely action or provide a coherent timeline of events. “Erroneous proceedings are not an excuse that prevents the running of the time within which the application for review is to be filed,” she added.
The ruling also pointed to the potential prejudice to beneficiaries of the estate, who had relied on the closure of the matter over four years ago.
“The balance of convenience favours the dismissal of this application,” Justice Maxwell concluded, ordering that the case be dismissed with costs.
The ruling solidifies the legal finality of Mugabe’s estate, now administered by his daughter, Bona Nyepudzayi Mugabe, who was represented by lawyer Addington Chinake of Kantor & Immerman.Battle for Robert Mugabe’s Estate Takes New Twist as Alleged Son’s Claim Dismissed
