Gono exposes former employees

Former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono has laid bare explosive allegations against his former employees Clark and Beverly Makoni, accusing the couple of fraudulently taking control of his Manicaland-based company Valley Lodge Pvt Ltd, and revealing that they are facing similar allegations involving his other properties in Chivhu.

Testifying before Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje, Gono told the court that the Makonis, once entrusted with managing his family's real estate portfolio, had used deception, forged documents, and court processes to take over his businesses without his consent.

"I entrusted them to manage over 15 properties in Chivhu. In 2017, I expanded their responsibilities to include our Mutare properties, including Valley Lodge," Gono said. "The same challenges we faced in Chivhu are being replicated in Mutare. We are working to rectify the fraudulent activities."

He said the couple used a fraudulently acquired court order to bar him and his employees from accessing Valley Lodge, with police reportedly acting on misinformation supplied by the accused. "The police and community were deceived. They didn't know the order was obtained fraudulently," said Gono.

The former central bank chief testified that Galwex Investments, one of his companies, owns all the shares in Lizack Holdings and Valley Lodge, which he purchased from Costick Investments represented by Ayoob Omar. Although the final transfer process had not been completed, Gono emphasized that the Makonis were not shareholders and had no authority to change directorships or bank signatories.

He alleged that the couple went several months without remitting rental income, which prompted an internal investigation. Through his staff, he discovered that the CR14 form for Valley Lodge had been fraudulently altered to list Clark as director and company secretary, and Beverly as a director—without his or the legitimate directors' knowledge or approval.

"These changes were never approved by the board. The last board resolutions date back to December 10, 2008," said Gono. "Any suggestion that they own or lease the company is fraudulent. An affidavit from Ayoob Omar, the former owner, confirms this."

Gono said the couple misused Valley Lodge accounts to withdraw ZWL$137 million in unauthorised salaries for themselves and their employees under Ark Properties, adding that no restitution was made—only apologies. "These apologies do not wash away the fraud committed," he said.

He further told the court that he relied on revenue from Valley Lodge in his retirement, and the disruption caused by the alleged fraudulent takeover had caused him stress.

In January 2024, Gono said Makoni apologised and proposed to repay US$50,000. The parties even signed a draft agreement and posed for photos after what Gono described as "smoking the peace pipe." However, Beverly later refused to sign the settlement, leading to the current court battle.

Ayoob Omar, who sold Valley Lodge to Gono, also testified in court and dismissed any claim by the Makonis, stating unequivocally that the business was sold to Gono, not the accused.

The court heard that the Makonis are accused of forging the CR14, which is central to the State's case. They are also said to have misrepresented their ownership to ZB Bank in order to change the company's bank signatories and gain access to company funds.

The State alleges the couple embezzled over ZWL$172 million, part of which they used to pay themselves and run their own operations under false pretences.

Magistrate Mambanje postponed the matter to July 11, with Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) investigating officer Eric Chacha expected to testify next.