We lost our mother in 2020, and grief did to us what it does best. It stripped us naked and raw, like the orphans that we are.

Our mother was sweet. She wore many crowns in our lives, and in the lives of people she encountered too. She was a wise woman who always insisted that we be kind to each other. “Do unto your brother what you want him to do to you.” We lived by her words until her last breath.

Now, we are living life like we have been sworn enemies since childbirth.

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We found out our mother died without a will, leaving properties to be shared amongst five children. In the beginning it wasn’t a big trouble. We figured we were going to manage it, be adults about it. She left behind a big house and a school. When she died, our elder brother took over the running of the school, and we let him. We all live together, the income from the school feeds all of us. He was our brother, we trusted him wholeheartedly.

Sadly, he started turning selfish and prideful. “The school is now mine. If you have a problem, go and ask the ghosts of your mother.”

He runs the school like it is his. No check-ins with us on how it should be run. No updates. Worst of all, we don’t get our share from what the school gets. He makes and takes decisions as though the school was his sweat and blood. That is the exodus of the problem.

We’ve confronted him. It only backfires and turns into a cat and dog fight. We trade words, we insult each other, and we return home carrying grave hatred for one another.

The matter has even been taken to the elders, but if he has no respect for the spirit of his mom, what about the living? We reported him to some elders in our family and in our community, but to no avail.

We then took the issue to Legal Aid. They invited all of us for resolution. They said they will prepare something called Letters of Administration to help us share her properties accordingly.

They asked my brother to pay a certain fee from the school’s finances. But he has refused till date. The last time we visited the Legal Aid, we were informed that if our brother has refused to finance the process for the Letters of Administration, then we will have to finance it ourselves.

Times are very difficult for us, so we couldn’t finance it. It is the school that has been taking care of our family all these while, so now that our source of income has been snatched from our hands, we are looking at him with mercy and angst and rebellion in our eyes.

Some nights ago, I overheard our youngest brother plotting something. I don’t have full details, but I know it will be as bad as it gets because of the fire I see in his eyes. We are on opposite sides, but I wish not to have blood on my fingers. I didn’t think it had gotten to this stage, but it seems money is indeed the root of evil.

It’s Not God’s Law For A Man To Apologize To A Woman

I have exhausted all the options I know. Please, is there any way we can get justice? As it stands, none of us know anything about the running of the school, and he may ruin it for all of us.

If there is anyone out there who knows where we can get legal help, please. Something bad will happen. I know it and I can feel it. The battle line has been drawn in this house. Before it gets worse, before blood spills, what else can be done legally?

—Kworshie

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