Accused Couple Seeks Case Discharge, Putting ZACC'...

Accused Couple Seeks Case Discharge, Putting ZACC's Legal Mandate on Trial

ZimNow Reporter

In the final stages of their trial for allegedly defrauding former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono, a business couple is applying for a discharge while also challenging the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission's authority to arrest them, following the State's conclusion of its case.

Clark Clever Makoni and his wife, Beverly Aisha Ndonda Makoni, deny the fraud allegations, maintaining there is no evidence connecting them to the crime.

It is the State's case that in July 2017, Gono engaged the services of the accused persons to manage Valley Lodge, among other properties.

The State further alleges that the couple forged a CR14 form for Valley Lodge [Pvt] ]Ltd] in which Clark Makoni appointed himself a director and company secretary and Beverly Makoni as director in Valley Lodge.

The trial continued on Friday with the investigating officer Eric Chacha from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission on stand as a State witness.

He was put under intense cross examination on allegation that the couple in ‘stealing’ the company changed signatories on the Valley Lodge ZB Bank account and siphoned ZWL137 million.

He was asked to state the original signatories whose names were changed and responded naming Gono and Omar.

This was however contrary to what Gono said the previous hearing, distancing himself from the signatories.

Chacha confirmed before Regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje that the Valley Lodge company 's CR14 from the Registrar of companies had not been changed contrary to claims of the alleged changes.

He further conceded that he had not taken the various offending documents allegedly authored and signed by the accused persons for analysis by handwriting experts to prove their connection to those documents.

"We did not take them to those handwriting experts," Chacha said.

The State also alleges that the two went and made themselves directors of the company which again saw Chacha being made to explain.

This was after he was shown an email authored by one Lindiwe Sabeka which described Beverly as an employee of Valley Lodge and a finance director.

He conceded that there were documents which identified the couple as managing director and finance director respectively.

The defence further alleged the arrest of the couple was a fabrication with a former Zacc official Lindiwe Sabeka now an employee at Gono’s Galwex firm using her connections to have the couple arrested and have the matter investigated in Harare yet there are Mutare offices.

“Zacc has offices in Mutare but the matter came to Harare. You also worked with Sabeka at Zacc that is why the matter came to you. You corruptly worked together to have the two arrested because if it was genuine, the matter should have been done in Mutare,” Rubaya said.

Chacha responded saying the commission gave him a mandate to work on the case.

Rubaya further said there was malice in the arrest of his clients as the same case had been reported at the police and Beverly was arrested and only to have the matter withdrawn by prosecutors after discovering it was the same set of facts.

He further said the arrest of the couple was unlawful as ZACC did not have arresting powers with the issue being heard in the highest court on land,the constitutional court.