The issue of one spouse disinheriting the other also came up this week with a landmark decision of the Supreme Court ruling that parties to a marriage are free to disinherit each other. ¬ is ties in very well with the Marriages Amendment Bill discussed above.
It looks like someone in government is working very hard to destroy the fabric of Zimbabwean society. ¬ is new development speaks loudly to the sentimental value of marriage which is brought about by the payment of lobola and other practices.
We were made to learn that the law governing the property rights of married persons in Zimbabwe is the Married Persons Property Act (Chapter 5:12), which provides that since 1929, marriages in Zimbabwe are out of community of property.
“¬The law of testamentary disposition in Zimbabwe recognises the doctrine of freedom of testation and does not oblige a testator to bequeath his or her property to the surviving spouse,” Chief Justice Luke Malaba said.
“¬ The law of testamentary disposition, which is based on the universal principle of equality of men and women, gives a right to a person married out of community of property to dispose of his or her estate by will to whomsoever he or she chooses.”
Let’s see how the younger members of our society will interpret this. It seems to give them the choice of marrying out of community property. At face value this is good for both parties to the marriage but what bound the older generation’s marriages was working together to accumulate property for their progeny.
Now the five judges that comprised the panel of the Appeals Court in their wisdom have chosen to unanimously turn most marriages in Zimbabwe into concubinages.
