The Harare Magistrates Court cleared Bernard Marriot Lusengo, the chairman of Dynamos Football Club (Pvt) Ltd, of charges related to fraudulently acquiring 51% of the club’s shares, reported <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/marriot-wins-dembare-battle/">The Herald</a>.
Lusengo was acquitted of accusations that he corruptly obtained a majority shareholding and allocated shares to individuals who were not original members of the club.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, January 25, Magistrate Yeukai Dzuda said the complainants did not qualify as former players under the club’s 1963 constitution, which the complainants had sought to use as the basis for their case.
Dzuda also said none of the complainants were involved in the club’s formation in 1963. Furthermore, the court found no evidence to prove the amendments Lusengo made to the constitution, granting him ownership rights, were illegal. Said Dzuda:
<blockquote>
The State did not tender evidence to prove a charge of fraud against the accused person, therefore he is found not guilty and acquitted.
</blockquote>
The complainants, including former secretary-general Leslie Gwindi and ex-treasurer Eric Mvududu, accused Marriot of illegally seizing control of Dynamos in 2017. They claimed he assumed complete control, disregarding the club’s 1963 constitution.
The complainants, backed by former players and a shadow board led by ex-striker Esau Amisi, also accused Marriot of running the club unlawfully after dismantling the founding constitution.
They sought to have him found guilty of defying a 2005 Supreme Court order by Justice Luke Malaba, which directed Dynamos to return to its original constitution.
According to the 1963 constitution, founding members and early players were entitled to shares in the club. After the deaths of two complainants, David George and Ernest Kamba, the remaining ones were Gwindi, Mvududu, and Zuze.
However, Dzuda ruled that none of the complainants qualified as founding members or former players of Dynamos.
Marriot had argued that the complainants were not entitled to shares, as there was no longer a Board of Trustees.
He also claimed he was the sole surviving member of the club’s 1963 founders and that the 1963 constitution had been repealed at a general assembly meeting.
He added that no one, including the complainants, had challenged the formation of Dynamos Club Private Limited.

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In simple words, a man named Bernard Marriot Lusengo was accused of fraudulently taking control of a football club called Dynamos. However, the court said he was not guilty because the people who accused him were not original members of the club. They also could not prove that the changes he made to the club's rules were illegal. The people who accused him wanted him to follow the club's old rules from 1963, but the court said they were not allowed to do that. Marriot said he was the only surviving member from when the club was started and that the old rules no longer applied.

Marriot Triumphs In Battle For Control Of Dynamos

The Harare Magistrates Court is on Friday, January 31, set to deliver a verdict on the ongoing ownership dispute at Dynamos Football Club regarding Bernard Marriot-Lusengo’s 51 per cent shareholding claim, reported <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/d-day-for-dembare-shareholding-wrangle/">The Herald</a>.
Marriot, the club’s board chairman and the last surviving founding member, has been engaged in a long-running battle with factions challenging his control of Dynamos Private Limited, the company that owns the Premiership team.
Former players Garikai Zuze, the late Ernest Kamba and David George, along with supporter Eric Mvududu, accuse Marriot of manipulating the club’s shareholding structure and unlawfully repealing Dynamos’ 1963 founding constitution.
The complainants allege Marriot manipulated the share register to secure a 51 per cent stake in Dynamos Private Limited, allocating shares to people not originally involved with the club.
They also claim Marriot is defying a 2005 Supreme Court order by Justice Luke Malaba, which instructed Dynamos to revert to the 1963 constitution, entitling founding members and players from the club’s early years to shares.
In his defence, Marriot testified that he is the last surviving member of the 20 people who founded Dynamos in 1963 and argued that the 1963 constitution included a provision for creating a company to own the club in the future.
He stated that the shares were meant for the founding players and those who played for the club in its early years.
Marriot’s lawyer, Herbert Mutasa, argued that in 1999, Dynamos Football Club Private Limited was formed, with Marriot and three other founding players subscribing to one share each.
Marriot also claimed the share distribution in 2017 was decided in a board meeting, not through his unilateral actions.
Two of the complainants, Kamba and George, passed away before the case was concluded. Marriot further argued that the remaining complainants, including Mvududu and Zuze, do not qualify as founding members or former players.
Earlier this week, Magistrate Yeukai Dzuda heard the state’s case against Marriot and deferred the ruling to today.
During cross-examination, the State, led by Dzidzai Josiah, presented a Supreme Court judgment confirming the club should operate according to the 1963 constitution, which entitles former players to one per cent of the shares.
The state also claimed Marriot held an extraordinary meeting without the complainants’ involvement and repealed the 1963 constitution.

The court will decide who owns 51% of Dynamos Football Club. Bernard Marriot-Lusengo is fighting to keep his share. Other players and a fan say Marriot is lying about who really deserves the shares. They say the club should follow the original rules from 1963. Marriot says he followed the rules. Some of the people against Marriot have died. The judge will give a decision soon. It's a big argument about who really owns the football club.

Court To Decide Fate Of Marriot’s 51% Stake In Dynamos

Dynamos Football Club board chairman Bernard Marriot-Lusengo says the club fully supports head coach Genesis Mangombe despite a section of the fanbase demanding his sacking due to poor results.
Speaking to <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/dynamos-brace-for-africa-return/">The Herald</a>, Marriot, who is the team’s majority shareholder, said Mangombe has not failed as the team is only 11 points behind Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) leaders FC Platinum. He said:
<blockquote>
Mangombe hasn’t faltered yet. The league is very competitive and if you look at where we are on the log, you will see that he is doing well.
The coach needs support and we are still behind him as the board.
Dynamos are only 11 points off the top with more than 17 games still to be played. So, we need to be behind the coach.
His potential is beyond doubt and we believe with solid support, he can do well.
</blockquote>
Last month, a section of the club’s fans staged a protest at Rufaro Stadium calling for Mangombe’s ouster despite the team beating Arenel Movers 2-1.
The fans waved professionally printed placards well before the match demanding that Mangombe leaves.
Some of the messages on the placards read “12 games, 2 wins” and “Taneta kurova dzakabva kuD1”.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Mangombe said he has not failed and vowed to keep coaching the team. He said:
<blockquote>
It’s not a problem coaching the team, but if the bosses are seeing something in you, it means they see progress in everything. It’s not for the supporters themselves to start to sing songs like that…
It’s a league with a lot of teams, with different philosophies. So, at times you miss winning games because of some reasons beyond our control.
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, Dynamos is languishing in 7th position on the PSL table with 20 points, 11 behind leaders FC Platinum, after matchday 15.
Interestingly, DeMbare has only beaten Bikita Minerals, TelOne, Arenel Movers, and Chegutu Pirates, four clubs that were promoted to the PSL from Division One ahead of the 2024 season.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Dynamos FC Board Backs Coach Mangombe

Dynamos treasurer Beadle Musa Gwasira insists he is still at the club despite reports suggesting that he was dismissed and the message was conveyed by the club’s bouncers.
<a href="https://www.hmetro.co.zw/gwasira-claims-hes-hes-still-dembares-treasurer-despite-reports-his-dismissal-was-delivered-by-club-bouncers/">H-Metro</a> reported sources on Tuesday as saying Gwasira had been replaced by Justice Mubaiwa who, until now, was just a member of the club’s executive committee.
But Gwasira told the publication that he was still the Dynamos treasurer and reports of his sacking were wide off the mark.
However, sources at the club told H-Metro that Gwasira was fired after falling out with the powerful Marriot family. Said the source:
<blockquote>
You should know that those who take the post of the Dynamos treasurer are always living on borrowed time and we can say that Beadle (Gwasira) actually stayed longer than was expected.
Issues to do with money are quite a sensitive thing at Dynamos because of the direct interest of the Marriot family in basically every cent which comes through the coffers.
The trust between Beadle and the Marriot family was broken when Marriot’s monthly salary, which includes his monthly DStv subscription, which he gets from the club, was revealed to the media.
Remember this is a club which hasn’t been paying the players their winning bonuses all season and still owes several players their signing-on fees.
The Marriot family felt it was embarrassing that the old man’s salary, and DStv subscription, were not only made public but had been paid religiously and they started a witch-hunt.
The fingers were pointed at the treasurer and while there was no evidence that he was the one to blame for the leaks, the damage had been done.
But, maybe, it was how he was dismissed, with the message being carried by the monyas (security staff) which was quite humiliating.
However, when you accept any leadership post at Dynamos you should always be prepared for such rough endings.
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, Dynamos is languishing in 7th position on the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) table with 20 points, 11 behind leaders FC Platinum, after matchday 15.
Interestingly, DeMbare has only beaten the four clubs that were promoted to the PSL from Division One ahead of the 2024 season, that is, Bikita Minerals, TelOne, Arenel Movers, and Chegutu Pirates.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

I'm Still Dynamos Treasurer - Gwasira

Dynamos founding member, Bernard Marriot, is paid a monthly salary of US$1 090, which includes a US$90 DStv subscription, a report claims.
According to <a href="https://www.hmetro.co.zw/marriots-dembare-salary-revealed-strongman-gets-us1-090-a-month/">H-Metro</a>, Marriot’s net monthly salary is a tax-free US$1 000 payment, plus a US$90 payment, every month, to ensure his DStv subscription is fully paid for.
Marriot is the first, and only founding member of Dynamos, to get a monthly salary.
His salary comes from the club’s coffers because DeMbare’s agreement with Sakunda Holdings, who pay the salaries of their players and coaching staff, does cover his earnings.
While Dynamos’ highest-paid player gets US$1 800 a month, which dwarfs Marriot’s salary, concern has been raised as to why the other so-called seven shareholders, who are said to own the other 49 per cent of the shares at Dynamos (Pvt) Ltd, the company which owns the club, are getting nothing.
Marriot owns 51 per cent of the shares, which is being disputed in court, while the other seven shareholders have an equal share of seven per cent of the shares.
H-Metro reported sources as saying Marriot also get money from Dynamos’ other revenue streams such as commission which the club receives for selling policies of Nyaradzo Group. Said the source:
<blockquote>
The club uses its supporters’ chapters, spread across the country, to sell these policies and, in return, it gets a commission from Nyaradzo for the sales.
Some of the sales are in local currency and the other sales are in US dollars.
So, the commission fluctuates, every month, depending on the sales and this money is for the boss (Marriot).
You can try and do the calculations but it can be a significant amount during the good months.
You will see that this revenue is not reflected on the club’s books, even though commissions have been paid since the days when the club was using the Looks kit, because the revenue doesn’t belong to the club.
That’s the arrangement that is there, it’s all about the boss getting what he deserves from his club because it’s his property, right now, and he can do whatever he wants with it.
</blockquote>
Dynamos’ season has not gone according to plan as the club is trailing Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) log leaders Manica Diamonds by 10 points.
DeMbare’s four wins from fourteen games, including one decided in the boardroom, have all come against promoted sides.
In 2021, Marriot was arrested for allegedly manipulating the club’s share register to gain control over Dynamos.
The accusation centred around irregularities in the club’s ownership structure and voting rights.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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