us to live in peace. My brother-in-law is insistent. Maybe he is really happy
to see us suffer. At my age, where can I go? I cannot start afresh.49
Bethel, 41, lives near Bulawayo and said she was surprised at her brother-in-law’s
attempts to take her property after her husband died in 2013:
Before my husband was even buried, my brother-in-law was making moves.
He was running around from [government] office to [government] office. He
tried to get my husband’s pension. They [officials] said it wasn’t ready but
that he needed the death certificate for it. He got the death certificate by
saying that his brother [my husband] was a widower … I learned about three
weeks after my husband’s death that I was [being] left out. He took my car. I
was surprised that this happened. We were a close family.50
Annabelle, 50, lives near Bulawayo and told Human Rights Watch that things were
relatively quiet with her in-laws in 2013 when her husband passed away. It was a surprise
when they began harassing her years later:
In January 2016, [my in-laws] came and fought with me. The police were
called and said that the in-laws needed a court order to evict me. My inlaws wanted me to leave so that they could rent out my house. I raised the
money to hire a lawyer. The lawyer helped. He advised me not to leave the
house. I had to pay the lawyer US$300 in advance, and I sold a cabinet to
do so.
My husband never got along with them. I wish the lawyer would do
something to prevent the family from coming back. It worries me and I want
to have peace.
49 Human Rights Watch interview with Deborah, May 25, 2016.
50 Human Rights Watch interview with Bethel, May 31, 2016.
“YOU WILL GET NOTHING”
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