Zimbabwe Widow 'Wins Landmark Inheritance Battle'

Zimbabwe widows fighting in-laws who leave them destitute: Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said that the widow, Lily Lilian Nyamushanya, should be the sole beneficiary of the matrimonial home and the children should benefit from the estate.

Zimbabwe’s High Court has ruled that when a person dies they must leave the bulk of their estate in their will to their immediate family, the country’s state-run Herald newspaper says.

70% of marriages in Zimbabwe are unregistered customary unions. Many women are left vulnerable as a result

BBC Africa Live report continues:

The landmark case was brought by a widow in Mutare who had been excluded from her late husband’s will. He had also disinherited his two children.

Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said that the widow, Lily Lilian Nyamushanya, should be the sole beneficiary of the matrimonial home and the children should benefit from the estate.

According to the Herald, she said the right to distribute one’s estate was not absolute if the person’s will “disregarded the rights of beneficiaries as enshrined in the constitution”.

She added that "traditions and cultural practices that infringe the rights of women conferred by the constitution" were void.

When a man dies in Zimbabwe, his family often takes his property leaving his widow destitute.

This often affects women in customary marriages or when their spouse dies without a will.