New twist to Fools Mine saga

A legal storm is unfolding at Fools Investments (Pvt) Ltd, with corporate rescue practitioner Dumisani Dube raising alarm over alleged interference by a Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) officer in a bitter legal wrangle involving claims of fraud, extortion, and abuse of office.

Dube, through his firm Dube Legal Practitioners, has formally requested Zacc executive secretary Sukai Tongogara to recuse the commission's investigating officer Willem Adams from all matters involving Fools Investments. In a letter dated May 29, Dube alleges that Adams, a former police officer, has a close relationship with one of the accused in an extortion case and is compromising the integrity of the corporate rescue process.

The complaint centres on former senior police officer Victor Jaja and five others, who are accused of extortion and allegedly name-dropping members of the First Family in the process. Dube accuses the group of attempting to extort money from him and Fools Investments' acting chief executive, Mohammed Daka.

Dube also alleges that Adams has been instrumental in frustrating the corporate rescue of the company, which is owned by Chinese investor Xu Xiao Fel, by siding with Jaja and his alleged accomplices - Munyaradzi Charakupa, Tawanda Mangi, and Percy Pemba.

"He is a close friend and former workmate of Victor Jaja, having served with him at ZRP Avondale, Harare," read the letter. "We know Jaja, Charakupa, Mangi and Pemba are using him to interfere with the corporate rescue process at Fools Investments."

The letter further accuses Adams of unlawfully seizing the original Master of High Court file under case number CRPB 1/24 using a questionable search and seizure warrant. According to Dube's lawyers, this has disrupted critical rescue proceedings, with sensitive and original security documents now allegedly missing or passed to the accused parties.

"This is a clear abuse of office. We are requesting an impartial officer to take over the matter to avoid bringing such a respectable institution into disrepute," Dube stated in his letter to Zacc. "Surely, the timing of this inquiry clearly shows we are being prevented from testifying against these four."

Dube also demanded that the unlawfully obtained Master's Office record be returned, claiming that the procedure violated the Insolvency Act, particularly section 124, which governs corporate rescue.

Meanwhile, Dube and Daka have since been arrested and are facing fraud charges. They are accused of forging documents to wrest control of Fools Investments.

According to court papers, Daka (47) and Dube (38) allegedly created a fake power of attorney and a fraudulent board resolution in April 2024. The documents purportedly gave Daka the authority to run the company and declared the company to be under voluntary corporate rescue due to financial distress.

Using the falsified paperwork, Dube is alleged to have successfully applied to the Master of the High Court for corporate rescue certification. The certificate was subsequently issued, granting Daka the role of acting CEO and Dube the title of corporate rescue practitioner.

"The accused succeeded in taking over the company using forged documents," the court documents state. "This caused serious prejudice to the administration of Fools Investments and disrupted mining operations, with financial losses still being calculated."

The complainant in the matter is Xu Xiao Fel, the company's principal investor.

As the legal and ethical tug-of-war intensifies, the credibility of both the corporate rescue process and Zacc's investigative procedures are now under intense scrutiny. Stakeholders are watching closely as the courts and anti-corruption bodies navigate one of the more complex legal disputes involving alleged manipulation of public offices and corporate takeovers in recent memory.