BULAWAYO – Former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko’s son and non-executive director of Choppies Zimbabwe, Siqokoqela, was charged with 170 counts of fraud on Friday after allegedly making unauthorised cash pick-ups of up to $52,000 from their retail outlets.

Siqokoqela, 40, was not asked to plead when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sithembiso Ncube. He was remanded to September 14 on $200 bail.

Last week, his wife, Nomagugu, 36, was charged with 49 counts of extortion. She is accused of swiping-for-cash at 15 supermarkets and threatening to have managers of Indian origin sacked if they refused to give her cash, which is scarce in Zimbabwe.

They are both represented by Professor Welshman Ncube of Mathonsi Law Chambers.

Prosecutor, Nkathazo Dlodlo, said Siqokoqela, being a shareholder and director of Nanavac Investments Private Limited trading as Choppies Zimbabwe, deceived employees that he was entitled to receive certain amounts of money and services.

Choppies Zimbabwe is represented by Ottapathi Ramachandran who is the group CEO for Choppies Distribution Centre Private Limited and Choppies Enterprises.

Siqokoqela is a shareholder and one of the six directors of Choppies Zimbabwe.

As a non-executive director, the court heard, he was only entitled to a gross salary of $10,000 per month, his children’s school fees in full, a company vehicle, monthly fuel for the company vehicle, 3.53 percent of profits after tax as divided at the end of each year and a telephone allowance.

There is no requirement that he has to report for duty at all.

But on various dates, Siqokoqela, without board authority or agreement with any of the shareholders or directors and without seeking their consent, allegedly proceeded to various supermarkets of Choppies Zimbabwe where he demanded for and received cash, goods or services with the value of $51,945.53.

The state argues that he did this by deceiving the employees into believing he was the one in charge of Choppies Zimbabwe and had the authority to demand or collect anything he so wished from the business and that he could collect goods on a credit facility which was itself a misrepresentation.

“On various occasions, he represented to the employees from whom he collected the cash, goods or services that the value therefore was to be deducted from his monthly salary. At the same time, he would instruct the finance department of the company not to deduct any amount from his salary,” Dlodlo said.

“As such all the employees in Zimbabwe were labouring under the misconception that the accused person is the owner of Choppies Zimbabwe. He even threatened the employees with dismissal and deportation.”

There were occasions when he also represented that he intended to replace the amount taken by swiping for the amount at one of tills, but left without paying, it is alleged.

Choppies Zimbabwe, the court heard, became aware of the practice sometime in May 2018 when the group CEO was going through management accounts.

The charges against Siqokoqela and his wife come in the middle of a major boardroom fight over the ownership of the company.

Choppies Zimbabwe is a partnership between Nanavac Investments, a company owned by the former Vice President and his son, Siqokoqela, and the Choppies Group headquartered in Botswana. The Mphokos hold a 51 percent stake and the Choppies Group a 49 percent stake in the business – but this is now under dispute.

Ramachanda Mottoba, the Choppies Group chief executive officer, claims the Mphokos were in reality given seven percent shareholding for free and the other 44 percent was a cover to meet the country’s indigenisation laws.

With Mphoko now out of power, and with the indigenisation regulations set to be relaxed, the Botswana shareholders reckon he is weakened and it is time to take control.

Former VP Mphoko says they will fight tooth and nail to keep their shareholding.

Choppies Zimbabwe has 34 retail outlets spread out across the country.