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After spending 4 years in and out of courts, the embattled former NetOne chief executive officer Mr Lazarus Muchenje and seven top executives have been acquitted by Supreme Court after being found not guilty on numerous charges laid against them.
The former NetOne boss who enjoyed a short 2 year stint before ruffling feathers with the Susan Mutangadura board finally has sigh of relief as supreme court judges Mrs Justice Makoni, Honourable Mr Justice Kudya,Honourable Mr Justice Musakwa, acquitted him under supreme court case SC478/23.
The others acquitted on the same case are former NetOne board member, Chakona, interconnection and roaming manager Tawanda Sibanda, acting chief finance officer Tinashe Severa, chief technology officer Darlinton Gutu, chief operating officer Spencer Manguwa, Acting chief legal officer Tanyaradzwa Chingombe,Charmaine Kadenhe who was an intern.
Mr Muchenje had been accused of abuse of duty as a public officer for not following procedure for state owned companies and allegedly concluding three commercial agreements with Bankai International Private Limited of Mauritius and Bridgevoice Inc of the United States for value-added services, without the approval of the Board and the parent ministry.
Mr Muchenje was also said to have received benefits, including hiring security guards, purchasing furniture, renting luxury vehicles and approving
an undervalued lease agreement without Board approval.
Speaking to TechonoMag in the verdict, Mr Muchenje said “I am happy that my team and I have been exonerated by the courts and our innocence has been proven. We are grateful to have our dignity and integrity restored”.
NetOne is wholly State Owned Company but a private limited company
It is now among the entities that have been placed under Mutapa Investment
Fund.
He was represented by Advocate Taona Nyamakura, instructed by Innocent Chingarande of Chasi Maguwudze.
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In his transformative 2 year stint, Muchenje led the turnaround of NetOne from a loss-making company to a profitable company, paying dividends to the government .
NetOne, recorded a US$10,2 million profit for the year ended December 31, 2018, a massive turnaround from a US$77 million loss position previously
Revenue for the period grew 13 percent to US$119,1 million from US$105,5 million on the back of improved income from the data revenue stream.
According to Zimbabwe’s telecoms sector report from the Postal and
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), the number of active internet and data subscriptions increased by 7,5 percent to 10,6 million in the third quarter of 2023 from 9,9 million in the second
quarter.
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