News / National
Bank manager grilled in Gono fraud case
16 Feb 2025 at 08:23hrs | Views
The trial of a Harare couple accused of fraudulently altering the directorship of Valley Lodges, a property linked to former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono, continued on Friday, with a bank manager testifying in the case.
Tonderai Karumbidza, a bank manager at ZB Bank's Mutare branch, was cross-examined by defence lawyer Admire Rubaya when he took the witness stand. The defence challenged the validity of the State's evidence, arguing that the prosecution had failed to produce original or properly commissioned documents. Many of the submitted documents were reportedly commissioned by Karumbidza himself.
Additionally, the court heard that no CCTV footage had been presented to confirm that the accused, Clark Clever Makoni and his wife Beverly Aisha Makoni, were physically present at the bank when the alleged crime was committed. When questioned, Karumbidza conceded that he could not verify the presence of the Makonis at the bank on the specified dates.
Magistrate Stanford Mambanje stressed the importance of proper forensic verification of the signatures before the court could accept the documents as credible evidence. Prosecutor Heather Muwokoto acknowledged the defence's concerns but argued that bank records demonstrated procedural compliance in the change of signatories.
The matter was remanded to February 28.
According to the State, in July 2017, Gono allegedly engaged the accused couple to manage Valley Lodge, among other properties. On August 10, 2017, the couple allegedly forged a CR14 form, appointing Clark as director and company secretary and Beverly as his deputy.
Armed with the forged CR14 form, the pair is said to have approached ZB Bank Mutare, Valley Lodge's financial institution, and misrepresented themselves as the new shareholders. They allegedly sought to change signatories to the bank accounts, fraudulently assuming control of the complainant's company and accessing its funds unlawfully.
The case continues to unfold as the court deliberates on the presented evidence and the validity of the fraud allegations.
Tonderai Karumbidza, a bank manager at ZB Bank's Mutare branch, was cross-examined by defence lawyer Admire Rubaya when he took the witness stand. The defence challenged the validity of the State's evidence, arguing that the prosecution had failed to produce original or properly commissioned documents. Many of the submitted documents were reportedly commissioned by Karumbidza himself.
Additionally, the court heard that no CCTV footage had been presented to confirm that the accused, Clark Clever Makoni and his wife Beverly Aisha Makoni, were physically present at the bank when the alleged crime was committed. When questioned, Karumbidza conceded that he could not verify the presence of the Makonis at the bank on the specified dates.
Magistrate Stanford Mambanje stressed the importance of proper forensic verification of the signatures before the court could accept the documents as credible evidence. Prosecutor Heather Muwokoto acknowledged the defence's concerns but argued that bank records demonstrated procedural compliance in the change of signatories.
According to the State, in July 2017, Gono allegedly engaged the accused couple to manage Valley Lodge, among other properties. On August 10, 2017, the couple allegedly forged a CR14 form, appointing Clark as director and company secretary and Beverly as his deputy.
Armed with the forged CR14 form, the pair is said to have approached ZB Bank Mutare, Valley Lodge's financial institution, and misrepresented themselves as the new shareholders. They allegedly sought to change signatories to the bank accounts, fraudulently assuming control of the complainant's company and accessing its funds unlawfully.
The case continues to unfold as the court deliberates on the presented evidence and the validity of the fraud allegations.
Source - newsday
