Ex-RBZ Governor Gideon Gono’s Age Takes Centre Stage in Fraud Case
Former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono took the witness stand in a Harare courtroom on Friday, testifying in a fraud case where a local couple is accused of swindling him out of ZWL$137 million during a business takeover.
Clark Clever Makoni and his wife Beverly Aisha Ndonda Makoni are facing fraud charges related to the alleged illegal takeover of Valley Lodge (Pvt) Ltd, a company linked to Gono. The couple has denied the charges.
According to the State, Gono hired the Makonis in July 2017 to manage Valley Lodge and other properties. But prosecutors claim the couple went further than agreed; allegedly forging CR14 company documents to appoint themselves as directors: Clark as director and company secretary, and Beverly as a director.
Gideon Gono Claims Age is Affecting Memory
Gono, now older and no longer in public office, admitted during questioning that age had made it harder for him to recall some dates without checking notes. He explained that he couldn’t immediately remember the specific date he engaged the couple in 2017.
But the defence quickly seized on that statement, arguing that Gono’s forgetfulness cast doubt on the reliability of his testimony. Under pressure, Gono walked back the remark, telling the court that the comment had been “taken out of context” and that he was retracting it.
When the alleged fraud came to light, Gono told the court that Clark approached him, apologised, and agreed to pay US$50,000 as compensation. However, the proposed deal never went through, Gono said, because Beverly was absent from the meeting and later refused to sign the documents. He added that Clark never followed up to finalise the agreement.
Defence Challenges Timeline and Documentation
Defence lawyer Admire Rubaya questioned the legitimacy of Gono’s claims. He pointed out that the alleged settlement agreement didn’t clearly state what the US$50,000 payment was for. Rubaya also challenged Gono over paperwork he had signed which listed Clark as Managing Director and Beverly as Finance Director — contradicting Gono’s allegation that the couple fraudulently inserted themselves into company leadership.
The defence further noted that Clark had already been arrested twice, once by the police and again by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), over the same allegations.
The trial continues on July 11 before regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje.
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