By Bahle Gama
“Our brothers refuse to give us a share of our late father’s estate and say we should expect to be catered for at our matrimonial homes.”
These are submissions of female siblings who reported their brothers to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry for refusing to give them a share in their father’s estate.
Siblings Sibongile, Sarah, and Sdudla Ngwenya accompanied their mother Mntfwana to report their grievances before the Commission on Thursday afternoon.
Sibongile told the Commission that their father Mdvuna Ngwenya died in 2004 leaving behind cattle, tractors, goats, sheep, and a homestead built on Swazi Nation Land (SNL).
The estate was reported by his remaining wife Mntfwana, their father had three wives, but the other two passed one.
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When the file was opened at the Master’s office at Siteki, an executor was not appointed until a later stage when Sibongile was appointed as an executor.
“Nothing has been distributed to date, and most of the stock was sold by our brothers along with the tractors that our father left behind,” she submitted.
When asked whether all the cattle were sold, Sibongile told the Commission that only four remained and they were 14 when their father passed one, which means her brothers sold the 10.
Of the four remaining cattle, the family requested one from Master for a cleansing ceremony.
She told the Commission that their brothers did not want them to be involved in the estate. When she reported them to Master, a meeting was called but her brothers refused to attend.
“Even during the first meeting where I was appointed as the executor, they were not hearing any of it and stormed out before it was concluded,” she said.
The daughters further disclosed to the Commission that their father was part of a sugar cane scheme in the community, in which their brothers are also refusing that they be given a share of the revenue generated from their father’s land.
They said only their brothers’ wives are allowed to receive money, and each of their four brothers have two wives.
“Master wrote a letter to the scheme that the money should be deposited into the beneficiaries account to be distributed amongst the siblings, however, this was only done once in 20 years,” said Sibongile.
Their mother, Mntfwana, made a shocking revelation that some of the male children refusing their sisters access to the estate were her biological children.
She said, when she tried to fight on the female children’s behalf, her sons would tell her to leave with them and forget about the estate. She has never received any money made from the sale of the stock and tractors.
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However, she does receive money from the scheme as the surviving spouse.
“They don’t want to hear anything from me as their mother. If I try to intervene, I’m told that I should also leave,” she submitted.
Sibongile continued and told the Commission that the share from the Mantimave Scheme has been a thorn to them, for years now because it is unfair that as beneficiaries, they will be excluded from receiving anything that forms part of their father’s estate.
She disclosed that they were once called to the Siteki Magistrate Court and their brothers walked out when they were told to return to Master and meet as a family, to which they refused.
When their mother called the meeting, the brother blatantly refused and uttered insults at their mother.
The Commission questioned why the office of the Master of the High Court is unable to summon the Ngwenya brothers.
“They need to account for and give answers as to why they are taking and selling property that does not belong to them.
The law states that when a person dies, it must be reported at Master, whether they owned anything or not,” said Chairperson of the Commission Judge Majahenkhaba Dlamini.
Unfortunately, Master from Siteki was not present during the commission and his representative was not well-versed on the matter.
It was concluded that the Ngwenya brothers would be summoned by the Commission and Siteki Master would have to be present to give the Commission a clear picture of the situation.
