HARARE – The start of the defense case for Harare estate agents Clark Clever Makoni and Beverly Aisha Ndonda Makoni was delayed on Monday after the couple, who are accused of defrauding a company owned by former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono of ZWL137 million, filed an urgent application with the High Court seeking to stay the proceedings.
During the court session, Malvern Mapako, appearing on behalf of defence lawyer Mr Admire Rubaya, disclosed the development. Consequently, the matter was postponed to Friday.
The Makonis are facing allegations of defrauding Galwex Investments, a company owned by Gono, of ZWL137 million.
This comes after their application for discharge at the close of the State’s case was dismissed, with presiding magistrate Stanford Mambanje ruling that they had a case to answer.
The alleged offence stems from a transaction on October 30, 2009, when Costic Investments (Pvt) Ltd sold all its shares in Lizack and Valley Lodge to Galwex Investments (Pvt) Ltd.
In 2017, Dr Gono reportedly engaged Ark Properties, a company owned by the accused pair, to manage Valley Lodge in Mutare.
On August 10, 2017, Clark Makoni is alleged to have filed a fraudulent CR14 form with the Registrar of Companies, listing himself and his wife, Beverly, as directors of Valley Lodge, effectively excluding the legitimate directors, Ayoob Omar and Mohamed Hussein Omar.
This alleged misrepresentation allowed the couple to gain access to Valley Lodge’s ZB Bank account, where they purportedly made themselves signatories and withdrew substantial amounts for personal use.
After taking control of the lodge, the Makonis allegedly declared the business unprofitable, prompting Galwex Investments to conduct an internal audit, which reportedly uncovered the irregularities.
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