Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The High Court has issued a declaratory order affirming the legal rights of Peter Jack Masedza’s children to exhume and rebury their father’s remains, 50 years after his death, reported The Herald.
Masedza, also known to members of the apostolic sect as Johane Masowe, passed away in Zambia on September 14, 1973, at the age of 59.
His remains were later repatriated to what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and interred at the Gandanzara Shrine in Makoni, near Rusape.
The case arose from a prolonged dispute with a faction of the Gospel of God Church, which had barred the Masedza brothers from accessing their father’s gravesite. In 2017, the High Court attempted to mediate the issue by granting both sides equal access to the burial site, but the dispute continued.
The Masedza brothers sought a ruling on whether they had the legal right to exhume their father’s remains and whether the court could order such an exhumation.
Justice Tawanda Chitapi ruled in favour of the brothers’ right to exhume their father’s remains, provided they followed the appropriate legal procedures but did not directly order the exhumation. Ruled Justice Chitapi:
The applicants have a right to exhume the remains of the late Johane Masowe Shoniwa Masedza, which are buried at Gandanzara Shrine, Rusape, subject to their following due process.
The judge clarified that the declaratory relief granted did not authorise immediate exhumation but instead required compliance with the procedural guidelines set out in the Cemeteries Act.
Justice Chitapi acknowledged the applicants’ cultural and familial claims and underscored their view that it was both a traditional and moral obligation for children to bury their parents, maintain access to their graves, erect tombstones, and preserve these burial sites as part of their family heritage.
The brothers’ legal counsel, Advocate Lewis Uriri, instructed by Nickiel Mushangwe, argued that the denial of access to their father’s burial site had caused significant harm, severing their connection to their father’s remains.
Advocate Uriri further contended that Baba Johane, a devout worshiper of God, would not have wanted his grave to become a site of worship, idolatry, or a source of benefit for the leaders of the Gospel of God Church.
In opposition, the Church’s Deputy President, Erica Office, represented by Advocate Silvester Hashiti, argued that the deceased had expressed a desire to be buried at the Gandanzara Shrine and dismissed the application as frivolous, citing the passage of over 20 years since his death.
The judge noted that the parties had been involved in related litigation over the years, which explained the delay in bringing the current application.
While the court’s order is declaratory and does not directly mandate exhumation, it provides the siblings with the legal clarity and authority to proceed in accordance with statutory requirements.
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