Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
The defence case of a Harare couple, Clark Clever Makoni and Beverly Aisha Ndonda Makoni, both estate agents, failed to commence on Monday after they notified the court of an urgent application they filed at the High Court to stay proceedings.
The development was revealed by Mr Malvern Mapako, standing in for defence counsel Mr Admire Rubaya, during the court session.
As a result, the matter was postponed to Friday. The couple stands accused of defrauding Dr Gideon Gono’s company, Galwex Investments, of ZWL$137 million.
This follows the dismissal of their application for discharge at the close of the State’s case, with presiding magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje ruling that the pair had a case to answer.
The allegations date back to October 30, 2009, when Costic Investments (Pvt) Ltd sold all shares in Lizack and Valley Lodge to Galwex Investments (Pvt) Ltd, a company owned by the former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr Gono.
In 2017, Dr Gono tasked Ark Properties, a company owned by the accused, with managing Valley Lodge in Mutare.
However, on August 10, 2017, Clark Makoni allegedly filed a fraudulent CR14 form with the Registrar of Companies.
The document reportedly listed himself and Beverly Makoni as the two directors of Valley Lodge, excluding the legitimate owners, Ayoob Omar and Mohamed Hussein Omar.
This alleged act of fraud enabled the couple to gain access to Valley Lodge’s ZB Bank account.
They allegedly appointed themselves as signatories and withdrew significant sums of money for personal use.
After assuming control of Valley Lodge, the couple reportedly declared the business loss-making.
This prompted Galwex Investments to launch an internal audit, which uncovered the alleged irregularities.
