Masunda Fingered as Mastermind in NetOne CEO Fraud Storm

NetOne CEO Raphael Mushanawani is under arrest over US$1.2 million fraud allegations, but his lawyers say it is a “political hit job,” with Learnmore Masunda as the mastermind behind the arrest.

In a strongly worded letter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), Mushanawani’s lawyer, Admire Rubaya, dismissed the charges as fabricated.

“Our client is a victim in a well-orchestrated ploy to extirpate him from the helm of NetOne,” Rubaya wrote, adding that the accusations were linked to internal power struggles.

He claimed that some individuals eyeing Mushanawani’s position had “name-dropped very powerful individuals” but stressed that “there is no involvement of any such political figures.”

ZACC alleges Mushanawani engaged Lunartech Solutions (Pvt) Ltd to upgrade NetOne’s SAGE 1000 system without board approval, despite the company already having a US$3.5 million contract with Farevic Systems (Pvt) Ltd for a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

But the defense insists the upgrade was necessary and board-approved.

“An upgrade to SAGE L200 was imperative and a viable alternative to ensure continued operations and avoid hacking risks,” the lawyers argued, saying the two systems needed to run concurrently until the ERP was fully functional.

They further argued that the SAGE upgrade was part of NetOne’s 2025 Strategic Plan to modernise its technology infrastructure.

The lawyers also rejected ZACC’s claim that Mushanawani authorised fraudulent addendums worth US$1.2 million.

“The only payments made are US$184,800 and US$88,002.57,” the letter stated.

On the allegation that Mushanawani approved an unapproved US$79,467 consultancy deal with Diztech (Pvt) Ltd, the defense was equally dismissive.

“No contract was ever signed and not a dime has been paid,” the lawyers responded.

Concluding their defense, Mushanawani’s legal team said he was being unfairly targeted.

“Our client is being victimised for doing things right and acting in the best interests of his principal. ZACC must disregard the machinations of his detractors,” Rubaya added.