NETONE chief executive officer Raphael Mushanawani, arrested this week on corruption allegations, has accused rivals within the state-owned telecoms firm of orchestrating a smear campaign to oust him.
In a strongly worded letter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc), his lawyers Rubaya and Chatambudza demanded his “unconditional release”, claiming the charges were part of a vendetta by individuals “eyeing his post”.
“Our client is aware that there are certain individuals, who are targeting his post, who have approached you on the basis of name dropping very powerful individuals who sit in high echelons of power…in this country yet there is no involvement of any such political figures,” the lawyers wrote.
“The grand plan is for these instigators to take over as the people at the helm of NetOne. These allegations are premised on a false factual conspectus, which is not even supported by evidence.”
Mushanawani appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court following his arrest on Monday.
Zacc accuses him of unilaterally awarding multimillion-dollar information technology contracts without board approval.
At the centre of the case is NetOne’s decision to migrate from its ageing Sage 1000 enterprise system to the upgraded Sage L200 platform, a project valued at US$257 600.
But the CEO’s lawyers dismissed the allegations as a “shameless witch hunt”, arguing the migration was a necessary and board-sanctioned upgrade contained in NetOne’s 2025 Strategic Plan.
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They said investigators had confused NetOne’s existing Sage 1000 system with a separate SAP Enterprise Resource Planning project previously handled by another contractor.
“Our understanding is that you have arrested Raphael Mushanawani on allegations that he engaged a company known as Lunartech Solutions (Pvt) Ltd without the knowledge and authority of NetOne Cellular (Pvt) Ltd executive committee and the board for purposes of upgrading the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from Sage 1000 to Sage L200 at a cost of US$257 600,” the lawyers stated.
"Our client is at a loss as to why he finds himself languishing in police custody over an issue which exposes your officers' lack of understanding of IT systems.
“It should have been clear to your officers that the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning system, which NetOne Cellular (Pvt) Ltd contracted Farevic Systems (Pvt) Ltd to supply and implement, is totally different from the SAGE 1000 or SAGE L200.
“It is common cause that NetOne has been using the SAGE 1000 system to manage its core business operations.”
The lawyers argued that the Sage 1000 system had reached its “end-of-sale stage”, as confirmed by Sage South Africa.
They noted that after December 31, 2024, the system would no longer receive maintenance or support.
The lawyers further described Mushanawani’s detention as “illegal, vindictive, and a blatant abuse of power”.
Zacc further alleges Mushanawani inflated the deal to US$1,2 million through hidden addendums.
However, the lawyers said bank records show payments of only US$272 802,57 were made, in line with approved project costs.
"It is very clear that our client is just but a victim in a well-orchestrated ploy to extirpate him from the helm of NetOne, it is our hope that you will clearly see through the machinations of his detractors and allow real and substantial justice to take its course,” they wrote.
Over the years, senior appointments at the company have often been mired in allegations of political interference, with executives frequently pushed out whenever they clashed with powerful interests.
