THE director for Eagle Italian Shoes (Pvt) Limited and Eagle Italian Leather (Pvt) Ltd, who was arrested yesterday for failure to comply with a court order, which compelled him to perform 105 hours of community service, has appeared in court.
His lawyer accused the State of playing a part in his client's arrest, saying it came as a surprise.
The lawyer applied for US$100 bail.
He said he needed time to file a response in this inquiry.
The lawyer said the information before the court was factually incomplete.
Led by Mr Anesu Chirenje, the State said Francesco Marconati defied a court order, hence the need to know why he acted in that manner.
"It came to our attention through numerous complaints by the complainant that the accused person is not abiding by the court order.
"The warrant of arrest was issued by a clerk of court at the instigation of the Community Service Department. Therefore, there is no hand of the State in his arrest," said Mr Chirenje.
"On the issue of bail, our position is very clear; the accused is a convict and has defied a court order."
Mr Chirenje said the accused was facing three months imprisonment and the risk of absconding was high, adding that there would be "serious interference with judicial proceedings if he is granted bail".
Magistrate Mr Simon Kandiero deferred the matter to today.
Francesco Marconati and his son Alessandro were found guilty of threatening to kill Ms Li Song, one of the two directors and shareholders of Eagle Italian Shoes (Pvt) Limited and Eagle Italian Leather (Pvt) Ltd.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
During the trial, Ms Li told the court that Francesco illegally removed her from the company position and replaced her with his son, Alessandro.
He also removed Agrilink as the company secretariat without conducting a shareholders' or directors' meeting.
Marconati (65) also filed fraudulent CR6 forms with EcoBank and First Capital Bank to remove Ms Li's signature on all accounts and replaced them with his son's.
It was proven that on September 28, 2022, Ms Li was standing outside the Harare Magistrates Court after attending a criminal court where Francesco and Alessandro were facing fraud and forgery allegations, and she was the complainant.
