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Prosper Dembedza Court Correspondent

A 68-year-old Marondera man appeared in court on allegations of defrauding Eagle Italian Leather Products (Private) Limited of US$200 000.

Godfrey Gonese was facing fraud charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Ignatio Mhene who remanded the matter to August 16 for trial.

Allegations are that sometime in September 1996, Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited purchased two pieces of land called Mlanje of Roraima and Clifton of Roraima measuring 103 6086 hectares and 136, 6835 hectares respectively under Deed transfer 7727/97.

The court heard that in September 1997, Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited obtained a loan of US$300 000-00 from International Finance Cooperation and used the two pieces of land as collateral security but failed to honour the loan.

It is the State’s case that Lowveld Leather Products, in an effort to service the loan engaged an investor, Fransesco Marconati a director of Eagle Italian Leather Products (Private) Limited as an investor.

On July 6 2001, the two pieces of land were gazetted and acquired by the Government under the land reform programme under Government Gazette 330A/272-273.

In 2003, International Finance Cooperation obtained a High Court order under case number HC 2945/03 against Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited to recover the loan arrears of US$200 000 and the High Court ordered both movable and immovable assets be sold in execution by private treaty to Fransesco Marconati, the director of Eagle Italian Leather Products (Private) Limited.

In 2003, Marconati, through a sale in execution done by the Deputy Sherriff Marondera, purchased movable assets and later bought the immovable assets through the Sheriff. Eagle Italian Leather Products started operating.

It is alleged that July 11 2014, Eagle Italian Leather Products (Private) Limited obtained a ten year lease number GL1596 for the two Mlanje and Clifton of Roraima farms measuring 205, 2886 solely for the purpose of carrying on the business of Leather tanning and shoe manufacturing.

On March 22, 2019, Gonese proceeded to the office of the Registrar of Companies, Bulawayo where he misrepresented to the Registrar that directors of Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited, Rose Mazula, Seppo Ainamo, George Dikinya, Masimba Stanford Chimwara and Whisper Gwena had been resigned from the company and that Ruvimbo Gonese, Docus Gonese and Paul Munyaradzi Mugoni were the newly appointed directors. Masimba Rupondo and Ruvimbo Gonese were appointed secretaries in the purported new set up.

It is alleged that Gonese also changed the CR2 (return of allotments) of the company making him the major shareholder with 1999 shares.

Investigations done Mazula one of the directors and the chairperson of Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited revealed that there was neither a meeting nor resolution from the Directors of Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited that had necessitated the resigning of all the directors and Gonese therefore, does not have locus standi to represent Lowveld Leather Products.

On March 22, 2019, whilst fully aware that the two pieces of land had been leased to Eagle Italian Leather Products (Private) Limited and armed with the fraudulently obtained company documents that made him the director of Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited obtained a High Court Order case number HC 5530/19 declaring that the two pieces of land named Mlanje and Clifton of Roraima belonged to Gonese.

He therefore, caused complainant to suffer a potential “prejudice of US$200 000.”