Latest: Bona Mugabe and Simba Chikore Battle For Assets Turns Sour
In a sensational development, the estranged husband of the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s daughter, Bona Mugabe, has sold 100 cattle belonging to the couple, causing an uproar in the divorce proceedings.
The controversial pilot Simba Chikore is embroiled in a legal battle with Bona over the division of assets and property, and the cattle sale has now set the stage for a dramatic and messy divorce. The sale has prompted contemplation of a police case against him. Chikore is already mired in a series of controversial issues, including the Zimbabwe Airways scandal and the attempt to build a US$39 million mansion at the foot of a mountain next to Venue Umwinzii, in Umwinsidale.
Newshawks reports that the fight for the estate is likely to be fiercely contested as it involves a sentimental house at No. 40 Quorn Avenue in Mount Pleasant, Harare, where Mugabe first stayed when he became prime minister in 1980. Chikore is demanding his pound of flesh, and one of the properties likely to trigger noise between Bona and Simba is the historic Mount Pleasant house donated to them during their wedding.
Bona Mugabe and Simba Chikore Battle For Assets Turns Sour [Image: Herald/Zimpapers Digital]
The construction of the 25-room house is estimated to cost at least US$20 million. It was originally expected to cost US$39 million. The imposing mansion sits on a 22-hectare tract of land that cascades down the mountain right to its foot in the Umwinsi River valley in Umwinsidale.
While Bona has offered Chikore some properties, her separated husband is demanding more, which she is flatly refusing to do. This is contrary to Bona’s wish to quickly finalize the divorce and settle all outstanding issues without drama. In her High Court summons issued to Chikore, Bona prays the divorce must be quickly granted while the property issue would be dealt with later in a separate suit as permitted by Section 7 of the Matrimonial Causes Act (Chapter 05:13).