Wicknell Chivayo was one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent and controversial businessmen, known as much for his lavish lifestyle and political connections as for the government contracts that helped build his business empire.
Chivayo, 43, died on Wednesday alongside his wife, Lucy Muteke, and four others after a helicopter carrying six people crashed in Marondera, about 70km east of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. Police said there were no survivors.
Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo confirmed the deaths to Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster ZBC, while government officials said two of the six people on board were pilots. The cause of the crash remained unknown, with investigations under way.
From business deals to the public spotlight
Chivayo was the managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe, a company that became closely associated with major government projects, including a $172 million solar power project in Gwanda awarded by the state owned Zimbabwe Power Company.
The project became the subject of years of legal disputes and scrutiny. Chivayo was arrested in 2018 over the alleged misuse of a $5.6 million advance payment linked to the project. A magistrate later struck the case off the court roll in 2023, citing delays by prosecutors.
Chivayo denied allegations of wrongdoing connected to his business dealings.
His business interests also brought him into the telecommunications sector. In 2024, President Emmerson Mnangagwa described Chivayo’s company as Starlink’s exclusive partner in Zimbabwe. The country’s telecommunications regulator later clarified that the company was one of several approved resellers.
Chivayo also attracted scrutiny over the procurement of election materials for Zimbabwe’s disputed 2023 elections. The country’s anti corruption commission investigated allegations involving contracts awarded to South African company Ren Form but closed the inquiry in 2025, saying it found no evidence linking Chivayo or the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to wrongdoing.
The billionaire known as Sir Wicknell
Beyond his business interests, Chivayo built a huge following through social media, where he regularly displayed expensive cars, private aircraft, luxury travel and large cash gifts.
He was widely known as “Sir Wicknell”, although he had never received a British knighthood. He became particularly well known for giving luxury vehicles and large sums of money to musicians, religious leaders and other public figures.
The displays of wealth made him a prominent figure in Zimbabwe’s popular culture and generated considerable public debate about the source of his fortune and his access to political and business leaders.
His influence also extended beyond Zimbabwe. Chivayo frequently shared photographs of himself with African heads of state, including Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan and Eswatini’s King Mswati III.
His relationship with Kenya’s President William Ruto also attracted attention. Ruto described Chivayo as a “dear friend” following his death and said he would remember him for his friendship, energy and belief in Africa’s possibilities.
Close ties to Zimbabwe’s political establishment
Chivayo’s relationship with Zimbabwe’s political establishment was a recurring feature of his public profile.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he had met Chivayo after a cabinet meeting just a day before his death, during which the businessman discussed some of his plans for Zimbabwe.
