The legal team representing NetOne Cellular (Pvt) Ltd chief executive officer Raphael Mushanawani has demanded his “immediate and unconditional” release following his arrest on allegations of a US$1.2 million fraud. The arrest, carried out on Tuesday, has ignited sharp debate within Zimbabwe’s telecommunications and business circles, with the lawyers describing the charges as baseless and politically motivated.
Mushanawani is accused of irregularly engaging Lunartech Solutions (Pvt) Ltd without the knowledge or approval of NetOne’s executive committee and board. Authorities claim that he contracted the local software company to upgrade the state-owned telecoms operator’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from Sage 1000 to Sage L200, allegedly bypassing corporate governance protocols.
However, Mushanawani’s lawyers—Rubaya and Chatambudza—issued a strongly worded letter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), denouncing the allegations as “fabricated and false.” They insisted that their client’s arrest was not only unlawful but also an indication of the investigating officers’ “lack of understanding of IT systems and corporate processes.”
“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 read.
Central to the case is the difference between two enterprise solutions—Sage and SAP. The lawyers highlighted that NetOne had, over the years, relied on Sage 1000 to manage its core business operations. Yet, they argued, the system had reached its “end-of-sale” stage. In 2023, Sage South Africa formally notified NetOne that maintenance and technical support for Sage 1000 would cease after December 31, 2024.
Faced with that deadline, Mushanawani and his team considered it imperative to migrate to Sage L200 in order to minimize operational risks and safeguard the continuity of the company’s services. According to the legal team, this transition was not a unilateral decision but one enshrined in NetOne’s 2025 Strategic Plan, a document formally adopted by the board.
“The upgrading of Sage ERP 1000 to Sage L200 was not a matter of personal preference by our client. It was an imperative, anchored in the company’s strategic framework and duly approved by the board,” Rubaya and Chatambudza argued.
They further drew a distinction between Sage ERP and the SAP ERP system, which had been contracted through another supplier, Farevic Systems. “The two systems are completely different. Conflating them is evidence of a fundamental misunderstanding of IT infrastructure,” they said.
Mushanawani’s Lawyers Demand Release, Dismiss $1.2 Million Fraud Allegations as “Fabricated”
The crux of the corruption allegations lies in claims that Mushanawani personally authorised contract addendums amounting to US$1.2 million. But his lawyers insist that these figures are grossly inflated. They contend that only two legitimate payments were made in connection with the upgrade project: US$184,800 and US$88,002.57.
Equally, they dismissed reports that NetOne signed an unapproved consultancy contract with Diztech (Pvt) Ltd worth US$79,467. “No such agreement exists, and no such payment was ever made,” the lawyers stressed.
In their letter, Rubaya and Chatambudza alleged that Mushanawani’s arrest is part of a broader plan to oust him from his position. They claimed there are “certain individuals” within and outside NetOne who have been actively working to discredit him for personal and political gain.
“Our client is aware that there are individuals targeting his post. The grand plan is for these instigators to take over at the helm of NetOne,” the lawyers wrote.
They insisted that far from committing fraud, Mushanawani had acted in the best interests of the company by ensuring the timely upgrade of critical IT infrastructure. “He is now being victimised for doing things right,” they added.
As of now, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has not issued a formal response to the claims raised by Mushanawani’s legal team. The silence has fueled speculation in the public domain, with some analysts suggesting that the case could be politically motivated, while others argue it demonstrates ZACC’s renewed determination to investigate state-owned enterprises.
Observers note that NetOne, one of Zimbabwe’s largest mobile network operators, has faced several governance and leadership disputes in recent years, with successive executives clashing with oversight bodies over procurement and financial management.
The arrest of Mushanawani, who has been at the helm since 2020, marks the latest controversy surrounding the parastatal. Whether the case will hold in court remains to be seen, but already it has triggered a wider conversation about governance standards, internal rivalries, and the balance between accountability and political maneuvering within state-owned entities.
For now, Mushanawani remains in custody as legal battles intensify. His lawyers maintain that his detention is unlawful and that he should be released immediately. Meanwhile, the fate of NetOne’s ERP upgrade and its implications for the company’s operations continue to hang in the balance.
Source- Bulawayo24
