A BITTER inheritance feud is tearing apart the family of the late retired senior assistant police commissioner Shepherd Gwasira, as his children seek the removal of their uncle, the executor of the estate, citing, among other reasons, a lack of transparency concerning rental income from the properties.
Gwasira, who died on August 29, 2020, left behind four wives and seven children.
What was expected to be an orderly distribution of his assets has instead turned into years of legal wrangling.
Court documents seen by the Zimbabwe Independent show that the children, who were represented by Sheila Gwasira (now deceased), Kudzai Leonard Gwasira and Munyaradzi Walter Gwasira, petitioned the Master of the High Court to have Zambe Nyika removed as executor dative of the estate.
The case, registered as DR1429/20: Estate Late Gwasira Shepherd, was heard before the Master of the High Court.
In a ruling issued on September 18, 2024, the Master noted that the inquiry had been convened “to satisfy the Master that Zambe Nyika, the executor dative in the estate, was not fit and proper to continue in the office as the executor”.
The complainants, through their lawyer, cited five grounds for Nyika’s removal, lack of cooperation with beneficiaries, lack of transparency regarding rental income, incompetence, failure to comply with the Master’s directives and the unauthorised renting out of the estate’s abattoir and misappropriation of the proceeds.
In a High Court application dated December 11 2024, Sheila Gwasira together with the children, Natsai, Kudzai and Munyaradzi stated that: “He was not co-operating with beneficiaries inter alia in that he was not accounting for proceeds of the sale of an estate property, was rude, verbally abusive including the use of obscenities to me, was not taking steps to implement the Redistribution Agreement and we had lost all trust in him.”
- Family feud erupts over retired top cop’s estate
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It further stated that: “He lacked transparency and accountability in handling the affairs of the estate in that he did not account for or distribute to us cash received by the estate from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission as pension and terminal benefits of the deceased.”
This was in addition to allegedly not accounting “for or distribute to us cash received by the estate from the Grain Marketing Board as payment for maize supplied by the deceased for the 2020/2021 season; he did not account for or distribute to us rent received by the estate from the leasing of the Snake Park Shopping Mall, which all amounted to US$16 000”.
In his defence, Nyika denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the beneficiaries “have been fighting for control of the estate” and that their conduct “has highly contributed to the delay in the finalisation of the estate”.
He further told the Master that similar allegations had been made before but “these allegations against the executor dative have been dismissed as being frivolous and vexatious”.
Nyika maintained that the complainants were motivated by what he described as “greed and a desire to control the estate’s assets to the detriment of other beneficiaries”.
In a detailed ruling signed on behalf of the Master of the High Court, the family’s case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
The ruling read: “Having considered oral and written submissions and information filed on record, the complainants failed to prove their case before the Master … There is no bona fide reason why the executor should be removed based on the above allegations.”
The Master also noted that “the executor has shown that he is more than capable of administering such a complex estate considering that he is just a lay person”.
Citing Justice Rita Makarau’s precedent in Katsande v Nyamakupa HC102/06, the ruling stated: “Removal of the executor is the prerogative of the Master on good grounds shown … The complainants have not submitted to the satisfaction of the Master good grounds warranting removal of the executor.”
The office, therefore, ruled that Nyika should continue performing his duties as executor of the estate, but advised that “if parties are aggrieved by our decision, they are free to approach any competent court for removal of the executor”.
Unhappy with the decision, the Gwasira family escalated the matter to the High Court, filing an appeal on October 8, 2025.
A letter from the Registrar of the High Court, Prince Hurungudo, confirmed receipt of the appeal: “We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 8/10/25 and the contents therein are duly noted. Kindly note that the same has been placed before the Hon Judge for her consideration.”
The correspondence was copied to all seven respondents, including the Master of the High Court and several of the late officer’s widows — Rudo Eviah Gwasira, Sophia Rudo Gwasira and Emily Munyandu Tembani.
Sources close to the family described the feud as a “war with no end in sight”, characterised by mistrust, multiple lawsuits and police involvement.
The estate is said to include several high-value residential and commercial properties, rental assets and business interests once linked to the late assistant commissioner.
