By Staff Reporter
HARARE – The High Court has dismissed an application by a man claiming to be the late former president Robert Mugabe’s secret son, ruling that he failed to provide conclusive proof of paternity.
Tonderayi Gabriel Mugabe, born Tonderayi Maeka in 1977 in Chimoio, Mozambique, approached the court seeking recognition as a beneficiary of Mugabe’s estate, which is currently being managed by his daughter Bona Mugabe.
High Court judge Justice Fatima Maxwell rejected the application, stating that the evidence presented was insufficient and speculative.
“None of the documents confirms who the father of the child is,” Justice Takuva ruled.
Tonderayi claimed that he was fathered by Robert Mugabe and born to a woman named Hilda Maeka. He told the court he had occasional contact with Mugabe during his lifetime, and that his identity was deliberately kept secret from the public and the president’s family.
After his mother’s death, he said, he sought to be recognised by the Mugabe family. He changed his name through a notarial deed and informed Bona Mugabe and her legal team of his claim after the estate had already been advertised.
According to court papers, Bona’s lawyers requested a DNA test, which he undertook. However, the court found the test inconclusive and problematic.
Justice Takuva noted that the DNA comparison was made with Lawrencia Mugabe, who is reportedly a child of Mugabe’s sister Bridget.
“The sibling tested with him is Lawrencia Mugabe, who stated she was born to ‘Tete Bridget’. Traditionally, ‘Tete Bridget’ would not be married into the Mugabe family as she is from that family,” the judge explained.
“It is therefore questionable if her children can assist in proving that one is a member of the Mugabe family.”
The court also observed that Tonderayi’s birth certificate, issued during Robert Mugabe’s lifetime, did not list the former president as his father.
“The exclusion of the father’s name at the time of registration is a clear indication that paternity was not acknowledged,” said Justice Takuva.
The judge ruled that under Zimbabwean law — particularly the Births and Deaths Registration Act — paternity must be formally acknowledged in such cases. Re-registration of a birth to include the father’s name is only allowed in limited circumstances, such as when parents later marry — which did not apply in this case.
“Applicant did not state that his mother ever married the late Robert Gabriel Mugabe. That may be the reason why, even though the Registration Office might have bowed to the pressure of the name, they did not go as far as to reflect the alleged father’s details on the birth certificate,” the court noted.
Tonderayi also sought condonation for the late filing of his claim in the Mugabe estate, but this too was dismissed. The court noted that the estate had already been finalised on 18 December 2020, yet he only formally approached the court in 2023.
In 2023, he attempted to reopen the estate under case number HCH 3729/23, but that application was also thrown out.
Justice Takuva said there was no justification for the delay and no compelling legal basis for reopening the estate.
Zanu PF legal secretary Patrick Chinamasa on Sunday claimed controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei is now a member of the party’s Central Committee, brushing aside internal dissent in a move that has laid bare growing factional tensions within the party.
The Central Committee, Zanu PF’s highest decision-making body outside of the Congress, plays a crucial role in determining party leadership and national policy direction.
Tagwirei’s admission into this elite structure is being widely interpreted as part of a long-term strategy to position him for a future presidential bid—setting him on a collision course with other factions, particularly that aligned with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.
In a statement released on Sunday, Chinamasa said Tagwirei had been nominated by the Harare Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) on March 31, 2025, and that his co-option was formally approved by the Politburo at two separate meetings—on July 2 and again on July 30.
“Cde Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s co-option into the Central Committee was recommended by the Harare PCC… This recommendation was adopted by the Politburo and confirmed again under the chairmanship of Vice President Chiwenga,” said Chinamasa. “The matter is irreversibly settled.”
The statement was unusually direct, suggesting high-level anxiety within the party over the growing backlash. Chinamasa characterised the criticism as a product of social media “misinformation and disinformation,” dismissing it as an attempt to undermine a committed party loyalist.
“There is no rule in the Zanu PF constitution which debars a committed and loyal party member, such as Cde Tagwirei, from being recommended for co-option into the Central Committee,” he said. “The negative publicity is undeserved.”
Chinamasa also pointed out that Tagwirei was not the only individual co-opted by the Politburo. Others included mines deputy minister Polite Kambamura, Christine Gwati, Joseph Serima, and Collen Ndebele—none of whom have attracted similar controversy.
Chinamasa’s statement was a direct rebuttal to Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa, who just weeks ago publicly claimed that Tagwirei “does not qualify” to be in the Central Committee. Mutsvangwa did not elaborate on the criteria Tagwirei allegedly failed to meet, but his comments were widely viewed as reflective of a broader resistance to the businessman’s rising political profile.
This very public contradiction between senior party officials has further exposed the deepening fault lines within the ruling party as it prepares for a potential transition of power in the coming years.
According to multiple sources within Zanu PF, Tagwirei’s entry into the Central Committee is being resisted by factions that fear he is being groomed to eventually take over the party—and possibly the presidency—from Emmerson Mnangagwa. One of the most notable opponents, insiders say, is Vice President Chiwenga himself, who is seen as the constitutional and political heir apparent.
“There is no denying it—Tagwirei’s co-option is not just about party service; it is political positioning,” a senior Zanu PF member said off the record. “This is about 2028 and beyond.”
