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THE fight for the control of an assets development company, Assetfin has turned ugly following the arrest of the deputy registrar of companies, Willie Mushayi for allegedly favouring a faction of the shareholders.
Assetfin shareholders are up in arms over the control of the company.
These are Onias Gumbo and Unitime Investments who have 50% shareholding apiece. Mushayi, who is out on bail, was arrested last month for allegedly contravening Section 174 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23). The state says he abused a public office by showing favour to Antony Parehwa thereby disregarding Gumbo and Emelda Mapanzure as directors of Assetfin.
Mushayi’s lawyers, Coghlan Welsh and Guest made an application for the exception of the charge under Section 171 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
Under the section, “when the accused excepts only and does not plead any plea, the court shall proceed to hear and determine the matter forthwith and if the exception is overruled, he shall be called upon to plead to the indictment, summons or charge”.
Magistrate Donald Ndirowei on Tuesday dismissed the application on the basis that the application was premature and the matter was remanded to August 11.
Gumbo is alleged to have changed the directorship of the company putting his name and former director Mapanzure as the directors of the company.
In a letter dated June 8 2010 to Fidelis Maredza the chief registrar of companies, Parehwa said Mapanzure had in an affidavit denied that she was a director of the company.
“In her affidavit, she denies the citation of her name as part of submissions as she never filed the CR14 alluded to on the fraudulent document,” Parehwa wrote.
He said Mapanzure’s affidavit “confirms our suspicion that the former director, Onias Gumbo, has been trying to mislead you through fraud and forgery of Assetfin records”.
Mredza is said to have mandated Mushayi to investigate the allegations raised by Parehwa.
In a memo dated June 15 to Maredza, Mushayi wrote that the CR14 filed by Mapanzure and supposedly registered on June 27 2007 was irregular as confirmed by her affidavit disowning the document.
“It is therefore very evident that the office file 11596/98 was tempered (sic) with and original documents removed particularly the current CR14 showing the current list of directors and secretary,” Mushayi wrote.
“With the documentary evidence at hand the CR14 listed as Appendix 6 in the letter of 8 June 2010 listing Paul Hupenyu Esau Chidawanyika and Antony Taengwa Parehwa as the current directors of Assetfin (Pvt) Ltd is the true record of the company’s directorship, and must be restored to the file.”
On the same day, Mushayi wrote to Parehwa confirming that the Assetfin file had been tampered with and that Parehwa and Chidawanyika were the true directors of the company.
He asked Parehwa to submit another original set of CR14 forms listing the correct list of directors and secretary.
The letter was copied to the Attorney General, Johannes Tomana, police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri, Anti-Corruption Commission CEO, general manager (investigations) Anti-Corruption Commission, police officer commanding Serious Fraud Squad and the deputy and officer commanding Harare Province.
If Mushayi is found guilty, he is liable to a fine not exceeding level thirteen or imprisonment for period not exceeding 15 years or both.
BY OUR STAFF
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