Marondera businessman Francesco Marconati has failed in his bid to overturn a two-year prison sentence for fraudulently removing his business partner, Ms. Song Li, from the directorship of their company, Eagle Italian Shoes.
The High Court upheld Marconati’s conviction and sentence but revised the restitution order, allowing payment to be made in local currency rather than in United States dollars.
Marconati was convicted on two counts of fraud and initially sentenced to five years in prison, with three years suspended on the condition that he compensates his former business partner for losses incurred due to his fraudulent actions.
During the trial, it was revealed that Marconati had falsified documents to unilaterally remove Ms. Li from the company’s directorship, violating corporate governance laws.
In his appeal, Marconati challenged both his conviction and sentence, but the High Court judges, Justice Happias Zhou and Justice Benjamin Chikowero, dismissed the appeal, deeming it baseless.
Justice Zhou, delivering the judgment, stated that the appeal against the conviction lacked merit and could not succeed. He emphasized that appellate courts have limited jurisdiction to interfere with sentences unless there is clear evidence of misdirection.
“No evidence was presented to show that the sentence was disproportionately harsh compared to penalties in similar cases,” Justice Zhou noted. He reiterated that trial courts are better positioned to determine appropriate sentences, given their proximity to the case details and the evidence presented.
The judgment further clarified that the trial court had appropriately balanced mitigating factors against the severity of the offense, finding no grounds for interference.
While the High Court upheld the overall sentence, it acknowledged an error in the original restitution order. The trial court had instructed Marconati to compensate his former business partner in US dollars. The High Court revised this to allow payment in local currency, citing it as a misdirection.
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