Leopold Munhende
NETONE will not renew Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Raphael Mushanawani’s contract amid claims of maladministration and disregard for corporate practices, sources have said.
Mushanawani, who was put on forced leave on the 13th of this month, is being accused of shielding some senior officials at the state-owned mobile network and internet service provider such as its head of supply chain.
Christopher Muchechemera, NetOne’s chief technology officer, is the acting CEO.
In the previous month Mushanawani isI understood to have knocked on numerous political doors, seeking a political saviour to no avail.
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet of Zimbabwe Martin Rushwaya is said to have already communicated government’s position on the matter, with Mushanawani’s visit to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Kwekwe Farm yielding no result.
NewZimbabwe.com has it on good authority that state security personnel at Precabe Farm denied him entry.
Rushwaya had earlier this year warned Mushanawani about NetOne’s “concerning politics” that he said continued to affect business operations and “pill out” of the institution.
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ZACC) investigation of his matters at NetOne, primarily the case that saw him being suspended for what was then described as anomalies in the procurement of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, was also raised.
His failure to implement a two-year board resolution to investigate allegations of dereliction of duty by the supply chain boss were highlighted as a reason he should not have his tenure extended.
“There is a pattern of repeated departures from approved policy, board resolutions and fiduciary reporting obligations, some of which occurred in 2025,” reads a document on the matter, gleaned by NewZimbabwe.com.
“This set of observations suggests a leadership problem and justifies serious governance, judgement and performance concerns.”
Mushanwani, who is a close associate of ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera, is said to have been reporting directly to her rather than the Taurai Maukira-led NetOne Board.
With a current tax bill of US$28 million, the NetOne board believes Mushanawani is responsible for half of it which it believes could have been avoided.
According to a second document in NewZimbabwe.com’s possession, Mushanawani went against a board approved payment plan with tax collector Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) and unsuccessfully appealed against NetOne’s obligation. ZIMRA is understood to have demanded immediate and full payment.
This comes at a time when NetOne is struggling to meet its projected US$278 million 2026 revenue target.
A source within NetOne have stated that the outgoing CEO has been trying to influence his appraisal assessment to solely focus on the organisation’s subjective revenue performance since 2020.
“This will not work as he is being fired for mainly violating various company regulations and board resolutions,” the source said.
“Mushanawani turned a deaf ear to many recommendations to correct this anomaly after firing the public relations (PR) head Richard Mahomva and now he has had to answer questions about it.” NewZW
