For more than a decade the name Francesco Marconati has repeatedly surfaced in Zimbabwe’s legal system and media reportage, consistently accompanied by serious allegations involving firearms, intimidation, and contested business conduct. Yet, over time, every major gun-related matter connected with him whether in respect of alleged shooting, unlicensed firearm possession, or threats linked to commercial disputes — has resulted in either dismissal, reversal on appeal or lack of definitive prosecution. In a legal environment where firearms offences routinely attract stringent enforcement against ordinary citizens, the inability of the justice system to deliver final, transparent outcomes in connection with repeated allegations linked to the same individual presents pressing questions about equity before the law and institutional accountability. This article reconstructs, on the basis of published reporting and available court outcomes, the gun-related matters tied to Marconati in Zimbabwe, outlining dates, courts, and developments in each instance. The earliest public linkage of a fatal shooting with the broader circle around Marconati dates back to 23 March 2016, when Claudio and Massimiliano Chiarelli were shot dead by-laws Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers at Mana Pools National Park. That incident was ruled lawful by the State and did not result in prosecution of Marconati; however, later media narratives referencing Marconati’s association with the Chiarelli family ensured the Mana Pools tragedy remained in the public imagination in connection with his long-running controversies. It was not until 2021 that Marconati’s name emerged in direct reporting about the use of a firearm. According to media accounts, in that year Marconati was alleged to have discharged a weapon during a dispute with a rival driver, with multiple reports stating that he had fired a gun four times at the driver of a rival in front of witnesses, and had also pointed his firearm at Chinese investors in an attempt to stop them from investing in a gold mine where he held a minority shareholding. Those reports linked the incident to the broader dispute over DGL5 Mines in Bubi, Matabeleland North Province, where locals and alleged employees described an environment of intimidation and fear. In 2024, the Bulawayo24 news site reported that former employees of DGL5 described Marconati as having cultivated a reputation as the “Italian Mafia,” boasting of his firearms collection and allegedly using the weapons to threaten Chinese partners and control employees. The article also referenced a lingering unresolved issue regarding the death of his business partner Claudio Chiarelli and his son, linking these to historical controversy though not to any concluded legal finding against Marconati. The next major publicised episode involving firearms occurred in December 2025, when The Standard reported that Marconati was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for allegedly possessing an unlicensed gun. The article indicated that the arrest followed the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man, Thabo Ngwenya, in Bubi district near the DGL5 mine, where a mine security guard was said to have shot him three times. Marconati was arrested and present in court, with bail rulings postponed, and villagers cited allegations of police protecting him, including claims that he was allowed to sleep at home and visit his mine when he was supposed to be in remand prison. The Standard noted that villagers alleged resistance by local police to record cases involving Marconati, and referenced previous gun-related incidents including the alleged 2021 discharge of a firearm at a rival and the pointing of a gun at Chinese investors. It stated Marconati claimed the firearms belonged to shareholders and were registered in his name. Alongside these allegations of firearm possession, reporting going back to June 2024 chronicles court episodes arising from an earlier matter linked to a breach of community service. 263Chat reported that Marconati was arrested in June 2024 on claims that he had failed to complete a 105-hour community service order imposed after a conviction — though in that instance the magistrate ultimately found there was insufficient basis to hold him as he had, according to the reporting, completed most of the hours and had legitimate reasons for delays due to court appearances and medical visits. Related reporting documented that community service documentation presented in court lacked key annexures originally, causing delay and confusion. In July 2024, an article in The Zimbabwe Independent detailed that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) launched an inquiry looking into possible abuse of procedure in relation to a warrant of arrest for Marconati over the alleged breach of the community service order, which had resulted in his incarceration for four days at Harare Remand Prison. The JSC letter dated 25 June 2024 acknowledged a complaint that the warrant and processes raising his imprisonment were improper and that there were signs of undue influence and procedural irregularities. This development, while not directly a firearms matter, framed the context in which Marconati’s encounters with the criminal justice system, including gun-related allegations, continued. Court records, confirmed in the High Court case citation HH 589-24 (HCHCR 4479/24), show that in November and December 2024, Marconati lodged appeals against convictions on fraud and company-law matters in the High Court of Zimbabwe, with the appeals court sitting on 19 November and 5 December 2024. This appeal resulted in key convictions being quashed on grounds that magistrate courts had erred, leaving outstanding questions about whether the legal processes were being applied consistently. Other reporting noted that on 5 December 2024 High Court judges found that there was insufficient evidence to support convictions and sentences previously imposed, including quashing a conviction that would otherwise have resulted in effective jail time. Separate reporting from The Standard around 15 December 2025 documents the more recent unlicensed firearm charge, with court appearances and postponements, as the matter remained before the magistrates’ court. Throughout these developments, involvement in gun-related allegations has co-occurred with a broader portfolio of legal disputes involving company ownership, fraud and forgery claims between Marconati and his former business partner Li Song including allegations that Marconati filed fraudulent CR6 forms to assume control of companies and remove Song’s directorship. Such civil and criminal disputes are intertwined with the popular narrative about his conduct and form part of the wider public conversation on how his cases are handled by law enforcement and the courts. A consistent theme that emerges from this sequence of public reporting and court action is one of recurrence without conclusive resolution. In each gun-related instance, whether it was the 2021 alleged firearm discharge, allegations of gun-pointing at investors, or the 2025 unlicensed firearm possession charge, there has yet to be a publicly documented, final conviction and sentencing that definitively addresses the alleged firearm conduct in court records available online. Instead, matters have tended to result in postponements, claims of procedural irregularities, appeals, or pending hearings at magistrates’ courts over prolonged periods. For ordinary citizens especially those without resources or high public profile firearms offences in Zimbabwe often lead to lengthy remand periods, overt prosecution, and clear sentencing, both custodial and non-custodial. The absence of finalised public outcomes in multiple gun-related matters tied to the same individual over many years raises serious questions about equal application of the law, institutional follow-through on firearm offences, and the perception that some individuals may operate with a different standard of legal consequence. While it is neither the role of journalism to convict in place of courts nor to assert guilt beyond what evidence shows, it is the role of investigative reporting to present a coherent sequence of factual events, to identify patterns and differences in treatment, and to spotlight where the letter of the law appears not to translate into consistent enforcement. In this case, the pattern of allegations, repeated appearances in courts, reversals of convictions, and prolonged unresolved gun-related charges paints a complex picture that Zimbabwean readers ought to scrutinise: one that speaks to how disputes involving allegations of violence and arrest are processed and how they sometimes remain unresolved in the public record. Marconati retains the right of reply and may clarify his position or legal defence. He also retains the legal right to have outstanding matters adjudicated in open court. The public and press have the right fundamental in a democratic society to observe, document and question disparities, delays, or patterns of legal outcomes that appear resistant to final resolution. Until definitive, publicly transparent outcomes emerge on the gun-related matters spanning more than half a decade, the conversation about equitable justice and investor accountability in Zimbabwe remains compelling and unresolved.
