By a correspondent
The Commercial Division of the High Court of Zimbabwe has formalized a definitive hearing date for the protracted $50 million ownership and inheritance litigation engulfing the prominent civil engineering conglomerate, Forit Contracting (Private) Limited. According to an official Notice of Hearing issued by the Registrar under Case No. R-HCHC65/24, the Summons Commencing Action is scheduled for an in-person adjudication in Courtroom 1 on Monday, June 22, 2026, at 10:00 AM. The high-stakes proceedings will be presided over by the Honourable Justice Chilimbe.
This looming judicial showdown marks the culmination of years of intense rancor, legal maneuvering, and deeply personal acrimony. The multi-million-dollar confrontation pits the biological children of the late businesswoman Juliet Mable Ziki-Kangai—namely Raphael, Takarwisa, and Tirivanhu Kangai (the Plaintiffs)—against their stepfather, Itayi Madziyire, alongside Forit Contracting itself (the Defendants). Given the complex, multi-layered regulatory dimensions of the corporate and estate architecture involved, the Master of the High Court, the Registrar of Companies, and Tinashe M. Zenda—the Executor Dative of the Estate—have also been formally cited as nominal defendants.
The Kangai siblings assert that their late mother co-founded Forit Contracting in 1994, contributing indispensable capital, strategic vision, and foundational operational support to establish an equitable 50/50 partnership with Madziyire. During the early 1990s, the company successfully positioned itself within Zimbabwe’s competitive civil engineering and infrastructural development sectors, securing lucrative public and private tenders that laid the groundwork for its current $50 million valuation.
However, the trajectory of both the family and the enterprise was irrevocably altered following her untimely demise in November 1998. In the wake of their mother’s passing, the Plaintiffs allege they were systematically disenfranchised. Despite their status as the natural and lawful heirs to their mother’s estate, they contend they were entirely denied executive integration within the company’s governance structures, as well as the substantial dividends accrued over nearly three decades of highly lucrative operations. For twenty-eight years, the siblings claim to have watched from the sidelines as the corporate empire their mother helped pioneer expanded exponentially, while they remained completely insulated from its financial success.
The plaintiffs, represented by the premier legal firm Dube, Manikai, and Hwacha, are petitioning the court for sweeping remedies designed to pierce the corporate veil and establish the true historical ownership of the conglomerate. Chief among these demands is a judicially mandated, comprehensive forensic audit of the entity’s shareholding architecture and historical financial ledgers from its inception to the present. This audit aims to uncover any unauthorized alterations to the share registry or corporate restructurings executed after Juliet Mable Ziki-Kangai’s death.
Furthermore, the Kangai siblings are demanding an independent, rigorous validation of Forit’s extensive asset portfolio, which spans heavy machinery, real estate holdings, and active infrastructure contracts. The core of their prayer to the court, however, rests on the restitution of wealth. They are seeking the immediate disbursement of multi-million-dollar accrued dividends long overdue to them as the legitimate beneficiaries of the estate, arguing that the withholding of these funds constitutes a severe, continuous breach of fiduciary duties and estate laws.
Conversely, Itayi Madziyire resolutely maintains that Forit Contracting remains his exclusive enterprise, denying that the late Juliet Mable Ziki-Kangai held an inheritable, equitable stake. He has mounted a formidable defense orchestrated by the distinguished constitutional jurist, Professor Lovemore Madhuku. The defense strategy is anticipated to rigorously challenge the validity, legal efficacy, and modern enforceability of the historical 50/50 partnership covenants, potentially arguing that the claims have prescribed due to the lapse of time or lack the formal registration required to bind the current corporate entity.
Apprehensive of dilatory litigation tactics designed to prolong the proceedings for years, the Kangai siblings previously escalated the dispute beyond civil channels. They lodged formal grievances with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Attorney-General’s Office, articulating profound anxieties regarding potential asset-stripping, capital flight, and the externalization of corporate funds while adjudication remains pending. These regulatory filings have introduced a layer of criminal and anti-corruption scrutiny to an already volatile corporate succession battle.
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As the June 22, 2026 hearing approaches, the impending determination by the Commercial Court is widely regarded as a watershed moment in Zimbabwean jurisprudence. The ultimate ruling delivered by Justice Chilimbe will not only decide the destiny of a $50 million indigenous industrial empire but will also establish a critical, binding legal precedent clarifying legacy inheritance frameworks, the protection of minority beneficiaries, and corporate succession laws within the nation for generations to come.
