By staff reporter
The Supreme Court has granted bail appeal filed by Italian-born businessman Francesco Marconati, overturning a High Court decision that had kept him in custody despite the National Prosecuting Authority not opposing his release.
In a ruling handed down on 31 December 2025, judge of appeal Justice Tendai Uchena allowed Marconati’s bail appeal by consent and set aside the bias decision of the High Court.
“The appellant’s bail appeal be and is hereby allowed. The decision of the court a quo is set aside,” Justice Uchena ruled.
The apex court ordered that Marconati be released on bail in respect of three matters, including alleged contraventions of the Firearms Act and one count of assault, all arising from cases registered at Inyathi Magistrates Court.
Under the ruling, Marconati must deposit a total of US$2,000, split across two criminal cases, report to Inyathi Police Station every fortnight, surrender his passport, and remain resident at Queens Mine, Bubi–Inyathi, Matabeleland North, until the cases are finalised.
He was also ordered not to interfere with state witnesses.
The application was argued by Advocate Lewis Uriri for Marconati, with T.P. Mutarisi appearing for the NPA, which again did not oppose bail.
The Supreme Court decision brings to an end a turbulent bail saga that began early last month, when a magistrate and then High Court judge Ngoni Nduna refused Marconati bail, even though the NPA had formally consented to his release.
Marconati had been arguing the decision to deny him bail was an “instruction” from his enemies who are working with his estranged girlfriend Li Song.
In that earlier ruling, the High Court acknowledged that the prosecution believed the magistrates’ court had erred in refusing bail, but nonetheless dismissed Marconati’s appeal, citing submissions by the investigating officer that he was a flight risk and had a propensity to commit offences.
The decision triggered widespread debate in legal circles, especially as it came on the same day that the High Court granted bail to Marconati’s employee, Mbekezeli Ngwabi, who is alleged to have fatally shot a man who trespassed on Duration Gold Limited 5 Mine in Inyathi on November 30.
Ngwabi was released on US$800 bail, a contrast that many lawyers described as deeply troubling.
Senior counsel Uriri had argued that once the prosecution concedes bail, “the court has no choice in the matter the accused must be released,” a position now effectively vindicated by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Although not addressed in the Supreme Court order, Marconati’s prolonged detention had fuelled claims that external commercial and political interests were influencing the case.
It has been alleged that powerful figures linked to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s son, Emmerson Junior, together with Li Song, a Chinese national described as Marconati’s former business partner and girlfriend, were seeking to gain control of his gold mining operations in Bubi and Inyathi, Matabeleland North, and that keeping him incarcerated weakened his ability to resist such moves.
These allegations have not been tested in court and are strongly disputed by parties close to those named.
Marconati, 66, runs Eagle Italian Shoes and Eagle Italian Leather in Marondera, gold mining interests in Matabeleland North, a lodge in Mana Pools in the Zambezi Valley, and Strengthened Investments (Private) Limited.
His companies have previously supplied leather shoes, helmets and baton sticks to the Zimbabwe National Army.
According to a reliable source who refused to be named said the Chinese Miners, Ming Chang Sino Africa Investment and a deported Chinese National Li Song who was declared a Non-grata Zimbabwe is working with some named Zimbabwean government officials, some senior police officers, and politicians to fight against Marconati and wrestle his business.
The source said the money is exchanging hands in order to have Marconati incarcerated and delaying the execution of the High Court ruling which booted them out of Gwampa Mining.
Marconati last year was charged with several allegations that includes fraud, contempt of court, theft among others and was convicted on more than three allegations which the High Court quashed.
Marconati labelled all the charges as persecution and intimidation to silence him from exposing the corruption of senior police officers, and externalisation of foreign currency by some directors in his companies.
He once spend one week in remand prison due to interference in his case for an inquiry over a community service breach which case was interfered resulting in the High Court acquiting him on the charges.
A police officer at Inyathi was also threatened with arrest after he refused to an order to admit that Marconati violated his community service order.
It is alleged the said officials are now allegedly trying to wrestle Gwampa Mining from Marconati who is now the sole Investor of the mine after he was given a benefit of doubt by the High Court through his company DGL Investment.
Gwampa Mining had approached the court seeking an order to rectify the register of shareholding pursuant to an unlawful issue and allotment of shares.
In the application to the High Court, Gwampa Mining had cited DGL Investment number 5 Private Limited, Eagle Italian Shoes, Ming Chang Sino Africa investment, Fuel Africa, Wang Ke and Chief Registrar of Companies and Other business Entities as respondents.
The High Court Commercial Division Judge Justice Bongani Ndhlovu granted the application in favour of Gwampa Mining before removing Ming Chang Sino Africa Investment, Fuel Africa and Wang Ke from the mining agreement they had entered with Gwampa.
According to the court documents, Gwampa Mining is a mining company incorporated on December 14, 2009 and at the time DGL Investment number 5 was incorporated, its stake was owned by Gwampa under its former name DGL Investments Number Twenty (Pvt) Ltd, which had a controlling stake, and another company known as DGL Investments Number Five Mauritius PCC, which was the minority shareholder.
The court heard that on April 11, 2017, Gwampa Mining entered into an investment agreement with Eagle Italian Shoes, Ming Chang Sino Africa investment and Fuel Africa in terms of which, parties agreed to mine claims belonging to DGL Investment number 5, together and pay royalties to Gwampa.
Further, the parties agreed to bear obligations in respect of their contributions towards the work of DGL Investment number 5, in the form of capital in order to realise the goals of the investment agreement.
The entire agreement was explicitly subject to the fulfilment of several critical conditions precedent, including the investors assuming a US$4.3 million debt.
Gwampa Mining was tasked with transferring mining claims from other entities to DGL Investment. Gwampa Mining was also tasked with allotting authorised shares to the parties upon fulfilment of certain conditions, that is issue to Ming Chang Sino Africa investment of 900 ordinary shares of US$1.00 each constituting 45% of equity in Gwampa Mining.
It was also tasked to issue Eagle Italian Shoes 500 shares constituting 25% equity in Gwampa Mining and issue 200 shares to Fuel Africa constituting 10% equity.
