A 68-year-old Marondera man who was facing allegations of defrauding Eagle Italian Leather Products (Private) Limited of US$200 000 was acquitted by Harare regional magistrate Mr Taurai Manuwere recently after the State case and before he had to give his defence.
In his ruling, Mr Manuwere said the State failed to prove a prima facie case against Godfrey Gonese.
In the trial it was alleged that in 1996, Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited purchased two modest farms called Mlanje of Roraima measuring 103,6086 hectares and Clifton of Roraima 136,6835 hectares.
The next year Lowveld Leather Products borrowed US$300 000 from the International Finance Corporation and used the two farms as collateral but failed to honour the loan. So they engaged Fransesco Marconati, a director of Eagle Italian Leather Products, as an investor.
In 2001, the two farms were taken over by the Government under land reform.
Two years later the IFC obtained a High Court order against Lowveld Leather Products to recover the loan arrears of US$200 000 and the High Court ordered both movable and immovable assets be sold and approved the sale by the Deputy Sheriff Marondera by private treaty to Mr Marconati and Eagle Italian Leather Products started operating.
In 2014, Eagle Italian Leather Products obtained a 10-year lease number GL1596 for the two farms solely for the purpose of carrying on the business of leather tanning and shoe manufacturing.
The State case in the criminal trial was that in 2019 Mr Gonese told the Registrar of Companies in Bulawayo that the original directors of Lowveld Leather Products had been replaced by a new set and that he was now the major shareholder.
One of the replaced directors of Lowveld Leather Products said there was no meeting to change the directors.
The State allegations said that Mr Gonese then obtained a High Court order saying he was the lessee of the two farms.
Source Herald
