AN 81-year-old Harare woman has dragged her late son's wife to court to revoke a donation of a property she made 30 years ago, alleging betrayal and ingratitude by the widow and her grandson.
Jane Chipiti appeared before High Court judge Justice Fatima Maxwell seeking to repossess the property in Dzivarasekwa 4, which she reportedly donated to Johannes Dembaremba in September 1994.
Dambaremba died in 2022 after living on the property with Chenai Tapalepa (56) and their children.
However, following his death, Chipiti claimed the surviving family members ignored her welfare, destroyed the property and called her a witch.
The mother-in-law is now seeking revocation of the donation, arguing that the respondent, her daughter-in-law and grandson, have displayed ingratitude, which legally undermined the continued validity of the donation.
Chipiti, who is being represented by Rufu Makoni, testified that the alleged ungrateful conduct gives rise to justifiable grounds to revoke the gift, calling on the court to order the Registrar of Deeds to effect the re-transfer of the property to her name.
Tapalepa and her son, who are opposing the application, are being represented by Scott Mamimine.
In her application for a declaratur, Chipiti submitted that she was blessed with only one son and his father died in 1978 when he was doing Grade 2 and she raised her son alone.
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Chipiti said she worked as a maid for a white man only identified as Baines at his house in Belvedere.
She submitted that before Johannes got married, Tapalepa was also working as a maid at a house along Eastcourt, Belvedere.
Chipiti submitted that in 1989, she acquired an immovable property in Dzivarasekwa and donated the house to her son, who was supposed to get a loan and finish the partially built property.
She said Johannes was developing the property in question on her behalf, telling the court that the donation was also made on the understanding that even if the property were to be registered in her son’s name, she would still have undisturbed rights over the house until she died.
Chipiti said she was diagnosed with diabetes and Tapalepa was failing to look after her, adding that they were destroying her property and had engaged prophets who called her a witch. The trial is going on.
