A 68-YEAR-OLD Marondera man, Godfrey Gonese, has been dragged to the Harare Magistrates’ Court for allegedly trying to grab a property belonging to Eagle Italian Leather Products.
Eagle Italian Leather Products supplies army, prisons and police uniforms.
Gonese, who appeared before magistrate Taurai Manuwere on Thursday last week, is denying the charge, arguing that the company is located on his farm.
The company is represented by its administrator Kutaura Bond Taderera.
Allegations are that sometime in September 1996, Lowveld Leather Products (Private) Limited bought two pieces of land called Mlanje of Roraima and Clifton of Roraima measuring 103 6086 hectares and 136, 6835 hectares, respectively, under Deed of transfer 7727/97.
It is further alleged that in September 1997, Lowveld obtained a US$300 000 loan from the International Finance Co-operation and used the two pieces of land as collateral security, but failed to honour the debt.
In an effort to service the loan, Lowveld engaged an investor, Fransesco Marconati, who is a director at Eagle Italian Leather Products (Pvt) Ltd.
The State alleges that on July 6, 2001, the two pieces of land were acquired and gazetted under the land reform programme as stated in Government Gazette 330A/272-273.
- Marondera businessman up for property grab
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In 2003, International Finance Co-operation obtained a High Court order under case number HC 2945/03 against Lowveld Leather Products to recover the loan arrears of US$200 000.
The High Court also ordered both movable and immovable assets to be sold in execution by private treaty to Marconati.
That same year, Marconati, through a sale in execution in Marondera, bought the movable assets and later, the immovable assets through the Sheriff’s Office. Eagle Italian started operating in July 2014 after obtaining a 10-year lease for the Mlanje and Clifton of Roraima farms measuring 205, 2886ha.
The land was bought for the sole purpose of carrying out leather tanning and shoe manufacturing.
However, on March 22, 2019, Gonese allegedly approached the Registrar of Companies in Bulawayo where he misrepresented that directors at Lowveld had resigned from the company.
He further allegedly misrepresented that Ruvimbo Gonese and Paul Munyaradzi Mugoni were the newly-appointed directors.
He also appointed Masimba Rupondo and Ruvimbo Gonese as secretaries in the purported new set-up.
Gonese allegedly changed the CR2 (return of allotments) of the company making him the major shareholder with 1 999 shares.
However, investigations by Rose Mazula, one of the directors, later revealed that there was neither a meeting nor resolution leading to the resignation of all the directors.
It is further alleged that on March 22, 2019, while fully aware that the two pieces of land had been leased to Eagle Italian Leather Products and armed with the fraudulently obtained company documents, Gonese obtained a High Court order stating that the property belonged to him.
The State alleges that Gonese caused complainant to suffer a potential prejudice of US$200 000.
Testifying before magistrate Manuwere, Mazula said Gonese fraudulently changed company documents without their knowledge.
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