NetOne CEO arrest sparks storm
... as defense team accuses anti-graft body of ‘ignorance’ ... alleges plot to oust executive
ANESU MASAMVU AND TANAKA FETINANDI
The arrest of Raphael Mushanawani, CEO of State-owned mobile network operator NetOne, has ignited a fierce storm after his lawyers accused the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) officials of ‘ignorance’ on IT systems and pursuing a hidden agenda to force him out of office.
The lawyers described their client’s arrest as unlawful.
Mushanawani, who was detained on Monday over alleged fraud involving more than US$1.2m, faces charges of bypassing the NetOne board in awarding IT contracts for system upgrades.
The anti-graft body alleges Mushanawani,who was yesterday
granted US$500 bail with
conditions including reporting to
ZACC offices every two weeks,
surrendering his passport and
avoiding contact with witnesses, engaged Lunartech Solutions (Pvt) Ltd without board approval for a US$257 600 upgrade of NetOne’s SAGE 1000 system, while a parallel US$3.5m contract with Farevic Systems was already in place to implement a new SAP enterprise planning (ERP) system.
He is also accused of inflating costs through unapproved addendums and of signing a separate US$79,467 deal with Diztech.
But Mushanawani’s legal team has mounted a scathing rebuttal, insisting the arrest was “unlawful” and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of IT systems.
In a letter dated September 30, seen by Business Times, addressed to ZACC General Manager of Investigations, Mushanawani’s lawyer, Admire Rubaya of Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, demanded his immediate and unconditional release, describing his detention as unlawful and built on false premises.
“Our client is at a loss as to why he finds himself languishing in police custody over an issue which exposes your officers’ lack of understanding of IT Systems,” the letter reads in part.
The lawyers argued that ZACC investigators had failed to distinguish between the different platforms used by NetOne, insisting that the SAGE 1000 system was “totally different” from the SAP ERP system supplied by Farevic.
“It should have been clear to your officers that the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning System… is totally different from the SAGE 1000 or SAGE L200,” the lawyers wrote.
“There was a clear understanding that there was a need to modernize the technology infrastructure. Thus, our client is lost when you allege that there was no board authority when the same board approved the Strategic Plan for 2025, which included the upgrade of SAGE, which is currently operational,” the lawyers said and attached evidence to support their claims.
“There is further brazen falsehood relating to our client entering into an alleged unapproved contract with a company called Diztech (Pvt) Ltd at a cost of US$79, 467.00 for consultancy training services. For the record, there is no contract that was signed between Diztech (Pvt) Ltd and NetOne as alleged, neither has there been any payment of even a dime to Diztech (Pvt) Ltd from NetOne relating to consultancy and training services connected to SAGE L200, since no such services were ever provided by Diztech (Pvt) Ltd.”
“It is on the basis of these circumstances that we have been invited to advise you that you have illegally arrested our client and illegally detained him. He reserves the right to exercise his options in terms of the law at the appropriate time but demands that he be released unconditionally.”
The lawyers said Mushanawani was a victim of a well-orchestrated ploy designed to force his ouster from NetOne.
“Our client is aware that there are certain individuals who are targeting his post who have approached you on the basis of name-dropping very powerful individuals who sit in the higher echelons of power and politics in this country yet there is no involvement of any such political figures. The grand plan is for these instigators to take over as the people at the helm of NetOne.”
They further said that NetOne was compelled to act after SAGE South Africa advised that it would no longer provide support for the SAGE ERP 1000 beyond 31 December 2024, leaving the company exposed.
“The continued use of the product SAGE ERP 1000 after 31 December 2024, in the absence of maintenance and support from SAGE South Africa, represented a significant business risk to NetOne operations,” the letter stated.
ZACC,however, has stood firm, maintaining that Mushanawani bypassed governance structures , prejudicing the state-owned mobile operator in the process.
