A Harare resident, Lewis Matutu, appeared in court yesterday after being implicated in a fraud case involving US$150,000 linked to a mining company. Matutu, along with co-accused Blessing Kusangaya, Tafadzwa Kusangaya, Muzimba Muhamba, Chikwasha Muhamba, and Sibanengi Ncube, all pleaded not guilty before Harare regional magistrate Noel Mupeyiwa.

The complainant, Joseph Evurath Sibanda, is a director and shareholder of Shusib Investments Private Limited. According to the State, Sibanda and his relative Lyton Shumba registered the company in 2012 to conduct business in industrial, mining, and domestic hardware sectors. The company was incorporated under registration number 6727/12.

At the time of registration, the firm had two directors — Sibanda and Shumba — and was issued 2,000 ordinary shares. Of these, 1,998 shares were held by the company, with Sibanda and Shumba each holding one fully paid share.

Sibanda later shifted focus to mining and sought exploration rights in the Shamva/Mufurudzi area from the Department of Parks and Wildlife. The department granted permission under the understanding that a 25-year lease would be issued, and it would receive a 15% royalty once operations began.

To support youth empowerment, Sibanda and Shumba brought in young people, including Matutu and his associates, who were subsequently made company directors. A youth-representative company, Pambili Investments Corporation, was also involved and given 240 shares.

Operations began with limestone mining, but as time went on, Sibanda remained the only active party on-site, continuing mine development largely on his own.

The State alleges that in 2018, Matutu and his associates devised a plan to unlawfully acquire shares in Shusib Investments. They allegedly created backdated company records — annual returns from 2014 to 2018 — and forged signatures of both Sibanda and Shumba to reflect changes in the company’s ownership and management structure.

These documents, filed with the Registrar of Companies, allegedly listed Matutu and the others as majority shareholders and directors, despite no official approval from the legitimate stakeholders.

The alleged fraud surfaced on September 30 when Sibanda was contacted by the Department of Parks and Wildlife, which informed him that Matutu had instructed them to halt all mining activities based on an apparent shareholder agreement to sell the claim. The department requested a meeting with a representative from Shusib Investments.

Furthermore, Matutu allegedly used the fraudulently obtained shares to attend an Annual General Meeting on November 19, where he is said to have removed Sibanda from the company’s directorship and changed its official address.

Sibanda claims he suffered financial losses amounting to US$150,000 due to these actions.

In court, the accused denied any wrongdoing, asserting that no forgeries were made and that they are legitimate directors of Shusib Investments, except for Ncube, who they said serves as company secretary.

The trial is scheduled to continue today.