𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗬𝗢? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀
Wicknell Chivayo was the Zimbabwean businessman who reportedly died today in a helicopter crash in Marondera with his wife Lulu. He was born on November 22, 1982, in Gandami village, Chivhu. His father Isaac died when he was 10. His mother Canisia raised seven children alone. He went to Dudley Hall Primary and Churchill Boys High in Harare but dropped out in Form 2 in 1996 because there was no school fees. At 15 he worked as a wages clerk in a bus company. That is where he learned how money and tenders work. He later said he made his first million at 19.
His money problems always took him to court. In 2004 at age 22, he was found guilty of stealing $200,000 in a fake forex deal. He spent three years in Chikurubi Maximum Prison. In 2011 he was arrested again for fraud and money laundering but was set free. His biggest case was the Gwanda solar project. In 2015 his company Intratrek was given $5.6 million to build a $173 million, 100MW solar plant in Gwanda. No work was done. He was charged with fraud and bribing ZPC boss with $10,000. In January 2024 the court threw the case away.
He became more famous for election scandals. In Zimbabwe's 2023 elections, his former partners Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe released documents and audios. They said he controlled Ren-Form CC, the South African company hired by ZEC to print ballot papers and voter kits. They said the price was raised from $40 million to $100 million, and over R800 million of R1.1 billion paid was moved to his companies. He said the documents were fake. In December 2025, ZACC closed the case saying there was no direct link to him because the contract was in Ren-Form's name. But many Zimbabweans believed the election was rigged. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa called it "a blatant and gigantic fraud." SADC observers said it was not free and fair. Local monitors said voters were intimidated and police raided their offices.
The same Ren-Form story happened in other places. In November 2024, Namibia's electoral body picked Ren-Form to print ballot papers. Four opposition parties protested and wanted the company blacklisted, linking it to Chivayo. Both he and ECN denied any link. In January 2025, he was accused of rigging Zimbabwe football elections by promising $10 million and 78 Toyota Hilux cars to voters to elect Nqobile Magwizi. Magwizi won. Losing candidates complained to FIFA and CAS. Chivayo said the claims were not true.
Behind ballots was gold and gifts. Al Jazeera's Gold Mafia film had already shown how powerful people smuggle gold. In January 2025 a truck with 1.5 tonnes of gold worth $122 million was seen in Borrowdale, Harare, in a convoy with Chivayo and President Mnangagwa's cousin Patrick Mnangagwa. It was linked to Scott Sakupwanya's BetterBrands group that gets RBZ money to buy gold from small miners without tax. In South Africa, his young brother Joachim Chivayo and Ayanda Gungwa were arrested by the Hawks with six gold bars worth R15 million while trying to find a buyer.
Why did Presidents Mnangagwa and William Ruto welcome him to State House? Because he gave gifts. In one year he spent $9.3 million on gifts — 20 cars and $2 million cash to army, police and prisons, a new Land Cruiser VXR and $100k to broadcaster Reuben Barwe, a Range Rover and $150k to musician Jah Prayzah, and buses for his Johane Masowe church with 2 million followers. King Mswati III of Eswatini gave him citizenship and a diplomatic passport in 2024. Ruto hosted him many times at State House Nairobi before Kenya's 2027 elections, and his IMC Construction Kenya got a share in the $2.9 billion JKIA deal in June 2026. He died on September 30, 2026, in a helicopter crash with his wife Lulu Muteke, whom he married in March 2025 after divorcing Sonja Madzikanda. Like Alexander the Great, he leaves empty-handed.
#Zimbabwe 
