HARARE
–
Lawyers
representing
NetOne
Cellular
CEO
Raphael
Mushanawani,
who
is
facing
graft
charges,
have
written
to
the
Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption
Commission
(ZACC)
demanding
his
“urgent
and
unconditional
release,”
arguing
that
his
arrest
is
unlawful
and
based
on
false
allegations.
In
a
letter
dated
September
30,
2025,
the
law
firm
Rubaya
&
Chatambudza
accused
investigators
of
detaining
Mushanawani
without
cause.
“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,”
the
lawyers
wrote.
Mushanawani
was
arrested
on
Monday
on
allegations
that
he
irregularly
engaged
Lunartech
Solutions
to
upgrade
NetOne’s
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
(ERP)
system
from
Sage
1000
to
Sage
L200
at
a
cost
of
US$257,600.
Investigators
also
allege
he
entered
additional
addendums
worth
up
to
US$1.2
million.
But
his
lawyers
dismissed
the
claims
as
“brazen
falsehoods,”
insisting
that
no
such
payments
were
ever
made.
“You
are
challenged
to
provide
such
evidence,”
said
Admire
Rubaya
adding
that
the
only
payments
processed
amounted
to
US$184,800
and
US$88,002.57.
Rubaya
also
argued
that
the
ERP
upgrade
was
above
board
and
approved
by
the
NetOne
board
as
part
of
the
company’s
2025
Strategic
Plan.
“It
should
have
been
clear
to
your
officers
that
the
SAP
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
System,
which
NetOne
contracted
Farevic
Systems
to
supply,
is
totally
different
from
the
Sage
1000
or
Sage
L200,”
the
letter
reads.
“The
upgrading
of
the
Sage
ERP
to
Sage
L200
was
imperative
as
it
was
a
viable
alternative
wherein
Sage
South
Africa
would
provide
vendor
maintenance
and
support.”
He
further
denied
allegations
of
an
unapproved
US$79,467
consultancy
contract
with
Diztech,
saying:
“For
the
record,
there
is
no
contract
that
was
signed
…
neither
has
there
been
any
payment
of
even
a
dime.”
Beyond
the
technical
disputes,
the
lawyers
suggested
Mushanawani
is
the
victim
of
a
political
and
corporate
power
play.
“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,”
the
firm
charged.
“If
anything,
our
client
is
being
victimised
for
doing
things
right,
for
acting
in
the
best
interests
of
his
principal.”
Rubaya
urged
ZACC
not
to
“give
in
or
yield
to
baseless
and
animated
allegations,”
warning
that
Mushanawani
would
pursue
legal
remedies
if
not
released
immediately.
Mushanawani
is
expected
in
court
on
Wednesday.