HARARE — NetOne Chief Executive Officer Raphael Mushanawani allegedly sought political intervention in a desperate bid to retain his position after being placed on forced leave this month, according to a report by NewZimbabwe.
The publication reported that Mushanawani approached senior political figures in recent weeks in an effort to secure support for the renewal of his contract, but the efforts were unsuccessful.
According to the report, Mushanawani’s visit to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Kwekwe farm yielded no result after Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya had already communicated the government’s position on the matter. NewZimbabwe also reported that state security personnel at Precabe Farm denied him entry.
The report says NetOne will not renew Mushanawani’s contract amid allegations of maladministration, poor corporate governance and failure to implement board resolutions.
Mushanawani, who was placed on forced leave earlier this month, is accused of shielding senior officials at the state-owned telecommunications company and failing to act on a board resolution adopted two years ago to investigate allegations of dereliction of duty involving the company’s head of supply chain.
Christopher Muchechemera, NetOne’s chief technology officer, is serving as acting chief executive.
A document cited by NewZimbabwe alleges repeated failures to comply with governance standards.
“There is a pattern of repeated departures from approved policy, board resolutions and fiduciary reporting obligations, some of which occurred in 2025,” the document reads.
“This set of observations suggests a leadership problem and justifies serious governance, judgement and performance concerns.”
The report also alleges Mushanawani bypassed the NetOne board by reporting directly to Information Communication Technology Minister Tatenda Mavetera instead of the Taurai Maukira-led board.
According to NewZimbabwe, the board believes Mushanawani bears responsibility for about half of NetOne’s US$28 million tax liability after allegedly disregarding a board-approved payment plan with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
The publication also reported that NetOne is struggling to meet its projected US$278 million revenue target for 2026.
A source quoted by NewZimbabwe.com alleged that Mushanawani had attempted to influence the criteria used to assess his performance.
“This will not work as he is being fired for mainly violating various company regulations and board resolutions,” the source said.
The same source added:
“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.”
Neither NetOne nor Mushanawani had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of publication.
