After the courts determined that her daughter had deceitfully deceived her into signing away her house, an old woman in Entumbane, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, has reclaimed her property.
The Bulawayo City Council sold the land to Ms. Siphiwe Moyo in 1998, according to court documents. The property served as a symbol of her safety for many years, but in 2015, it was alleged that her daughter, Floid Ngwenya, had deceived her into signing papers that changed ownership.
According to what the court heard, Ngwenya persuaded her mother that the documents were intended to safeguard the property. Rather, the paperwork gave title to Ngwenya and revoked the original memorandum of sale. Inconsistencies in the documents were also pointed up by the court, including a handwritten letter allegedly from Moyo that she denied writing and mismatched signing dates.
The court found that Ms. Moyo had been coerced and granted her a legal order of rei vindicatio, allowing her to reclaim her home from anyone occupying it without her consent. Ngwenya has been ordered to return ownership of the property within seven days of the judgment, issued on Friday, September 5, 2025.
Moyo was devastated after nearly losing the home she had secured nearly three decades ago, and she told the court that she was not properly informed of what she was signing and was only asked for her thumbprint.