High Court Puts Brakes on Fraud Trial of Couple Linked to Ex-RBZ Chief Gideon Gono

The High Court has temporarily halted the fraud trial of the couple linked to former RBZ governor Gono.

The Harare couple, Clark Makoni and his wife, Beverly Aisha Ndoda Makoni, have successfully secured a temporary halt to their criminal prosecution, a case centred on allegations that they defrauded former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono. The High Court intervention followed the couple’s challenge to a lower court’s refusal to dismiss the case against them.

The pair had applied for a discharge at the close of the prosecution’s case, arguing the State had failed to establish any criminal wrongdoing. When Regional Magistrate Stanford Mambanje dismissed their application and ordered them to open their defence, they turned to the High Court, seeking a review of that decision.

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High Court Puts Brakes on Fraud Trial of Couple Linked to Ex-RBZ Chief

In their review application, the couple, through their legal representative Admire Rubaya, launched a scathing attack on the magistrate’s ruling. They contended that the decision to place them on their defence was fundamentally flawed.

They stated,

“The 1st Respondent grossly misdirected itself by ignoring the fact that neither the main nor the alternative charge disclosed a valid offence upon which the Applicants could validly or lawfully be placed on their defence.” They argued this led to a “gross irregularity in the proceedings” and a “grave miscarriage of Justice.”

Central to the couple’s grievance is the claim that the magistrate abandoned his neutral role and effectively took over the prosecution’s job. They allege that the court created a new charge against them that was not part of the original State case.

In his founding affidavit, Clark Makoni asserted,

“The 1st Respondent should just be an umpire who is not biased… but should have simply dealt with the case that was brought to him by the parties.”

He argued that the court cannot, under the guise of analysing evidence, introduce new particulars of fraud.

“It is trite that a Court must deal with issues placed before it and must not raise issues or new facts that were never placed before it as it would lead to it being on a frolic of its own, which the Courts seriously discourage,” the affidavit read.

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Proceedings Stayed Pending Review

High Court Judge Justice Gibson Mandaza saw merit in the application for a pause in the case. He granted the order, stating,

“The Application for Stay of Proceedings Pending Review be and is hereby granted. The criminal proceedings in the Harare Regional Magistrates Court under HRER428-9/25 be and are hereby stayed pending the finalisation of the Court Application for Review.”

This ruling means the tense courtroom drama in the magistrates’ court is frozen indefinitely. The case will not proceed to the defence stage until the High Court has fully considered and ruled on whether Magistrate Mambanje’s decision was legally sound. The couple remains in legal limbo, cleared of having to present their defence for now, but not yet exonerated from the serious fraud allegations levelled against them.