A LAND dispute among family members ended tragically after a Hurungwe man committed suicide last Friday.
Lovemore Mbasera reportedly hung himself at his homestead at Chakupamwari village, Masokoti, ward 9, Hurungwe North, following a fallout with Chief Kazangarare and his aides.
Ward 9 councillor Dickson Jani said the late Mbasera was among villagers who attended the Pfumvudza launch in the area before he killed himself.
“I am deeply hurt with his decision to commit suicide. Mbasera wrote our attendees register, but he never said anything to me,” Jani said in a telephone interview. “I understood that he had a long standing land feud with some of his family members after he was allocated a plot that belonged to his mother.
“They had some challenges of late to resolve the issue, but he decided to kill himself instead.”
Another villager Kuda Tagarira, who was close to Mbasera, claimed that the deceased believed that he was a family outcast.
Tagarira and Mbasera attended an impromptu court chaired by Chief Kazangarare and headman Shumbayaonda at a local business centre.
“The late Mbasera confided in me that the jury passed a judgment against him despite overwhelming evidence in his favour, which affected him. He felt betrayed by the judgment which ordered him to leave the plot. The land dispute has dragged on for over 12 years,” Tagarira said.
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Chief Kazangarare, born Romeo Mandevha, confirmed the meeting on Friday with the deceased.
“I can confirm that we had a meeting with Mbasera over the land dispute with some family members,” he said.
He added that Mbasera had claimed that he had a civil court order giving him the right to stay on the plot,” the traditional leader said.
“We challenged Mbasera to bring a court judgment so that we could solve the outstanding case amicably, but all was not to be after he committed suicide a few minutes later,” he added.
Villagers who also spoke to NewsDay said Mbasera was raised by his maternal family members in Karuru area.
One villager said: “He came here a few years ago, but was hardly accepted by his own family members and the disputed plot he was allocated was under his mother’s name.
“A local headman later double allocated the plot to someone, saying Mbasera could not claim ownership of the plot. Meanwhile, his siblings did not accept him. There was bad blood between them, which saw him being an outcast until he committed suicide.”
Mashonaland West provincial spokesperson Inspector Ian Kohwera said he was not yet in a position to comment on the matter.
