THE State has withdrawn some fraud allegations against a couple accused of defrauding former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono as the case was running concurrently under two magistrates.
The couple, Clark Clever Makoni and Beverly Aisha Ndonda Makoni, was accusing Gono of using his political muscle in a case in a dispute over property.
Gono is accusing the Makonis of fraudulently transferring his property into their own names, while it was under their management.
According to the State, the couple was appointed to manage Valley Lodge, a property owned by Gono’s Galwex Investments (Pvt) Ltd.
It is alleged that the couple later changed the directorship of the company.
But the couple denies the charge and claims being targeted by Gono and other individuals with political muscle.
In court on Thursday, the State officially withdrew some charges against the couple after magistrate Sharon Rakafa noted that the same fraud allegations were currently under trial before regional magistrate Stanford Mambani.
Rakafa emphasised that the case could not be pursued further under her, noting the redundancy of bringing the same charges to court multiple times.
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According to section 8 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, the State is permitted to withdraw charges before a plea is entered.
The State alleges that on October 30, 2009, Costick Investments (Pvt) Ltd sold all its shares in Lizack and Valley Lodge to Gono’s Galwex Investments (Pvt) Ltd.
In 2017, a company owned by the couple was assigned to manage Valley Lodge as estate agents.
They allegedly later changed its directorship.
In court, the couple had accused Gono of using his political muscle.
“The accused person further asserts that these are clearly malicious, frivolous and vexatious allegations being peddled by the complainant in connivance with those who occupy certain positions of influence within the law enforcement agencies or other government-linked institutions who maliciously caused their arrest without any shred of evidence to justify their arrest and/or prosecution,” the couple submitted in its defence.
