Lawyers Slam ZACC After NetOne Boss’s “Unlawful” Arrest

By Staff Reporter

Lawyers representing NetOne Cellular (Pvt) Ltd Chief Executive Officer, Eng Raphael Mushanawani, have launched a scathing attack on the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), describing their client’s arrest as unlawful and rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of information technology systems.

Eng Mushanawani was picked up on Monday over allegations of fraud involving more than US$1.2 million linked to software upgrade contracts.

The development has triggered a storm, with his legal team accusing investigators of pursuing a case built on “technical ignorance.”

The Allegations

According to ZACC, Eng Mushanawani allegedly engaged Lunartech Solutions (Pvt) Ltd without approval from the NetOne board to upgrade the company’s SAGE 1000 system for US$257,600.

This was even though a separate and much larger US$3.5 million contract with Farevic Systems (Pvt) Ltd to roll out a new SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system was already underway.

The Commission further accuses him of signing additional addenda without the requisite board oversight that pushed the SAGE-related costs to more than US$1.2 million.

In addition, ZACC claims Eng Mushanawani contracted another company, Diztech (Pvt) Ltd, for US$79,467, again without following due processes.

If proven, the allegations could point to a serious breach of corporate governance and potential abuse of office within one of Zimbabwe’s largest state-owned enterprises.

The Lawyers’ RebuttalIn a strongly-worded letter dated September 30, addressed to ZACC’s General Manager of Investigations, Eng Mushanawani’s lawyers, Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, demanded his “urgent and unconditional release,” branding his detention unlawful.

“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 lawyers wrote.

They argued that investigators had conflated two distinct platforms — the legacy SAGE ERP 1000 system and the SAP ERP system

.“It should have been clear to your officers that the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning System being implemented by Farevic is totally different from the SAGE 1000 or SAGE L200 platforms,” the letter added.

Justification for the Upgrade

The legal team insisted that NetOne’s decision to upgrade the SAGE 1000 system was a business necessity, not an act of fraud.

They revealed that SAGE South Africa had officially notified NetOne that it would no longer provide support for the SAGE ERP 1000 after 31 December 2024, meaning the system would soon become obsolete.

“The continued use of the product SAGE ERP 1000 after the deadline, in the absence of maintenance and support, represented a significant business risk to NetOne’s operations, including billing, reporting, and customer management functions,” the lawyers explained.

In their view, Eng Mushanawani acted to safeguard the company’s operational stability, and his actions did not prejudice the organization.

ZACC Holds Firm

Despite the rebuttal, ZACC has maintained that the NetOne boss bypassed governance structures and entered into unauthorized contracts, a move they say prejudiced the state-owned mobile operator and undermined accountability.

The Commission insists that, regardless of the technical arguments, procurement and contracting within a parastatal must follow laid-down procedures, including board approval.

Wider Implications

The case has sparked wider debate on the intersection of technology management and corporate governance within parastatals.

Analysts note that while urgent system upgrades may sometimes require speed, the failure to adhere to procurement rules often opens the door to corruption and abuse of office allegations.

The saga also comes at a time when state enterprises in Zimbabwe are under intense scrutiny amid concerns about financial leakages, weak oversight, and recurring scandals.

NetOne itself has had a history of leadership instability, with several CEOs departing under controversial circumstances.

As Mushanawani remains in custody pending further legal processes, the clash between ZACC’s allegations and his lawyers’ defence sets the stage for what could become a landmark test case on how technical business decisions are interpreted under Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption framework.