Wicknell Chivayo, the politically connected businessman whose company holds a government contract worth more than $170 million, died Wednesday when a helicopter crashed in Zimbabwe's Marondera rural area. His wife, Lucy Muteke, died alongside him. Six people died in all, state broadcaster ZBC reported.
What Happened
Police said the helicopter crashed about 72km (45 miles) east of Harare, around 1500 GMT. It had taken off from the family home in Gandami, about 144 km (89 miles) from the capital.
Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo confirmed the couple's deaths to ZBC. “When it crashed, it burst into flames,” he said. He described those aboard this way: “There were five people. There were two pilots, his security aide, the wife and Chivayo.” That account differs from the police count. In a statement on X, police said six people were aboard, but they didn't immediately confirm the victims' identities.
Government spokesman Nick Mangwana supplied some of the missing information. “The government wishes to confirm that a helicopter crash has occurred, involving one high-profile businessman, three other passengers, and two pilots,” he wrote on X. “Current information indicates that there were no survivors in this crash.” He said police would confirm the victims' identities in due course. Investigators will need to reconcile the family's account with the official one.
A Businessman Tied to the Ruling Party
Chivayo was 43. He was a tycoon close to the ruling ZANU-PF party and a prominent figure among conspicuously wealthy businessmen linked to it. His displays of wealth on social media and high-profile gifts of luxury cars, cash and other items raised his public profile. Weeks earlier, he donated a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and a Maybach to a Zimbabwean preacher and the preacher's wife. He had also given another church $2 million in cash, buses and cars at a ceremony where he showed bundles of banknotes on camera.
His path wasn't free of trouble. Chivayo spent three years in jail around two decades ago after a money-laundering conviction. He later had connections with leaders of Ewastini, Kenya and Uganda. His ties to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF, in power in the mineral-rich country since independence in 1980, fuelled cynicism. The report said the lavish lifestyles of businessmen close to the ruling party sharply contrasted with widespread economic hardship. Zimbabwe marks 46 years since independence this year.
The Solar Contract
The public money at stake may be Chivayo's clearest legacy. His company, Intratrek Zimbabwe, a contractor for energy projects, won a more than $170 million government contract in 2015 to build a 100-megawatt solar plant in Gwanda, in the southwest. That was 11 years ago.
Delays hit the project. The state-run power utility later sought to terminate the deal because of them. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled the contract valid, and last month the government ordered the project to proceed. The ruling came three years ago. The plant still isn't running.
Why This Matters:
The crash leaves an unfinished state-backed energy project worth more than $170 million without its best-known principal. The source doesn't say what happens to the Gwanda plant now, and that uncertainty concerns taxpayers who've waited 11 years for a 100-megawatt facility. From a market perspective, the case shows the risk when business success depends on proximity to the ruling party rather than open competition. Contract enforcement did come through the Supreme Court, a point in favor of the rule of law. But the utility's attempt to cancel the deal over delays, followed by a government order to proceed, shows how much depends on political decisions. How openly police handle the investigation, and how clearly officials explain the differing passenger counts, will shape public confidence.