Published: 3 hours ago

Prominent corporate executive Never Mhlanga is expected to appear in court this morning facing fraud charges linked to the controversial sale of Montclair Hotel and Casino in Juliasdale, Nyanga, to the Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG).

The case stems from RTG's acquisition of Montclair for US$5 million in November last year, a transaction that involved payments to several shareholders, including Ludham Investments (Pvt) Ltd. Ludham was originally created by the now-defunct National Discount House (NDH), where Mhlanga once served as a senior executive.

NDH collapsed around 2004 after severe financial difficulties, leading to its liquidation. Some of its subsidiaries, such as NDH Equities, were sold or restructured to survive under new ownership. Despite this collapse, Ludham's shareholding in Montclair remained a valuable asset, eventually forming part of the RTG acquisition deal.

The complaint, filed by former NDH executives, alleges that Mhlanga fraudulently facilitated the Montclair transaction even though he was no longer a director of Ludham at the time. They argue that Ludham underwent ownership and directorship changes after NDH's disintegration, effectively removing Mhlanga from any control or mandate. Nevertheless, he is accused of spearheading the US$5 million transaction with RTG, a move that triggered a police investigation.

Mhlanga was arrested in Harare yesterday, and he now faces fraud charges stemming from the contested deal.

A well-known figure in Zimbabwe's corporate landscape, Mhlanga is a University of Zimbabwe-trained chartered accountant who has built a reputation as a corporate strategist, change management specialist and business turnaround expert. Over the years, he has been involved in a number of high-profile privatisation, restructuring and commercialisation projects. These include the privatisation and listing of Dairibord Holdings Limited, the management buyout of David Whitehead Textiles from Lonrho, and the merger that created NicozDiamond Insurance Limited. He also played advisory roles in the restructuring of financial institutions, including the merger of Trust, Royal and Barbican banks to form Zimbabwe Amalgamated Banking Group, as well as CBZ Holdings' takeover of Beverley Building Society.

Beyond his direct corporate roles, Mhlanga has served as executive director, principal consultant and trainer at Parker Randall Strategy. He has held multiple board positions in both listed and unlisted companies, sat on quasi-governmental bodies, and continues to contribute to advisory, charitable and religious boards.

With more than three decades of experience spanning banking, insurance, manufacturing, construction, stockbroking and development sectors, Mhlanga has long styled himself as a turnaround specialist. However, the Montclair Hotel case has cast a shadow over his legacy, and today's court appearance is expected to mark the beginning of what could be a protracted legal battle.
- online

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