YESTERDAY, we published Moreblessing Maretsa’s heartbreaking story.
His life was changed forever in 1992 after he was hit by a car in an accident which left him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Moreblessing was in Grade 6 when fate struck him with a huge blow.
The compensation he received from the accident was used by his parents to buy a house and a car.
However, after his parents died, the house has become something of a curse for Moreblessing.
It was sold by some of his relatives and he had to go to court to reclaim it.
Now, he claims, his brother and sister, who do not stay in Harare, have been chasing away tenants, whose money he needs to survive since he cannot work because of his condition, leaving him to live a miserable life.
Moreblessing claims the two have even locked the rooms, even though they don’t stay in the capital, just to frustrate him.
He claims his brother, who works in Beitbridge, says he wants to use his room when he comes to visit the capital even though, at times, he doesn’t do so for two years.
His ordeal, he says, started when his parents died.
Moreblessing said his late mother bought the house and put it in her name and made all of her kids beneficiaries. He says his late father used some of the money from his compensation pay-off to buy a car, which was given to his elder brother after their father’s death.
Moreblessing cannot work because of his condition and says he uses one room and rents out the rest of the house to get money to sustain himself.
Normally, this should be a good arrangement.
However, there is chaos in the family because Moreblessing’s brother and sister do not want to see the tenants at the house and have already taken care of some rooms, which they have locked, even though they don’t use those rooms.
The story of Moreblessing’s brother, in particular, defies logic.
He works and stays in Beitbridge and, according to Moreblessing, visits Harare once a year or once every two years.
However, he still wants the room, which he chose as his bedroom at the house, to remain locked so that he can use it every time he returns home.
He doesn’t even care if the room remains locked for a year or two years.
We feel this is unfair because it is very clear that Moreblessing needs help and he badly needs the income from the rentals.
It was the money from his compensation which enabled the family to buy and own the house and he should enjoy the benefits.
His family members need to understand that this is a special case.
They should show him love and that means giving him all the support that he needs.
If they can’t help him, who do they think will come forward and help him?
Moreblessing did not choose to be wheelchair bound. It’s fate that dealt him a huge blow.