NetOne Chief Executive Officer Raphael Mushanawani’s arrest on allegations of fraud has sparked outrage, with his lawyers blasting the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) for acting on what they describe as a politically motivated smear campaign.
Mushanawani, who was taken into custody on Monday over alleged irregularities involving US$1.2 million, is accused of breaching company procedures by engaging Lunartech Solutions (Pvt) Ltd to upgrade NetOne’s SAGE 1000 system. ZACC insists the engagement was done without approval from the board or executive committee.
However, Mushanawani’s legal team, led by prominent lawyer Admire Rubaya, has branded the arrest “unlawful and malicious,” claiming it is part of a deliberate plan by rivals to topple the CEO from his position through name-dropping and manipulation.
In a letter to ZACC dated September 30, 2025, Rubaya argued that Mushanawani’s actions were above board and had the full backing of the board. He accused certain individuals of misleading the anti-graft body to advance their own ambitions at NetOne.
> “There are certain individuals targeting his post who have approached you on the basis of name-dropping powerful figures in politics, yet none of these individuals are involved. The grand plan is to capture the position of CEO for their own benefit,” Rubaya wrote.
The defence dismissed ZACC’s version of events, insisting that the SAGE upgrade was both necessary and properly authorised. They explained that NetOne’s old SAGE 1000 system had reached “end-of-sale” status, with vendor support scheduled to expire by December 31, 2024 — creating a serious operational risk if no upgrade was done.
Rubaya argued that the SAGE upgrade was distinct from the US$3.5 million SAP ERP system already being rolled out by Farevic Systems (Pvt) Ltd, and that both systems had to run in parallel until the new one proved fully functional.
On the financial allegations, Mushanawani’s lawyers rubbished claims that he signed contracts worth US$1.2 million, producing evidence that only two payments had been made — US$184,800 and US$88,002.57 — far below the figure cited by ZACC.
They also rejected allegations that Mushanawani approved an uncontracted consultancy deal with Diztech (Pvt) Ltd worth US$79,467.
> “For the record, no contract was signed between NetOne and Diztech as alleged, nor has there been any payment since no services were ever provided,” the letter reads.
The legal team warned ZACC against being used in what they described as a “calculated power grab,” attaching board minutes and supporting documents to prove their client’s innocence.
Mushanawani’s arrest has now raised questions about the integrity of ZACC’s investigations, with critics warning that the commission risks being weaponised in internal corporate and political wars.
ZiMetro News will continue tracking this story as it unfolds.