Sir Wicknell Chivayo divided Zimbabwe. He never hid who he was.
by BERNARD CHIKETO
TO SAY Sir Wicknell Chivayo divided Zimbabwe is to understate things. He split it right down the middle. For some, he was a hero. For others, a loudmouth. But nobody could ignore him.
He was born Wicknell Munodaani Chivayo in November 1982, in the rural area of Gandami, Chivhu. His father died in a car accident when he was about ten. He attended Dudley Hall Primary School and Churchill Boys High School, but left in 1996 due to financial hardship. At about fifteen, he started work as a wages clerk at a local bus company.
He later moved to Harare, where he joined the unregulated foreign exchange business at the Union Avenue Flea Market. In 2004, he was sentenced to three years in prison for a currency deal gone wrong. He served time at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
But he emerged. He founded Intratrek Zimbabwe, an energy and infrastructure company. His defining project was the Gwanda Solar Project—a 100-megawatt plant awarded in 2014, initially valued at about US$172 million. The project became mired in delays and litigation. Chivayo was acquitted in 2023 on a fraud case connected to it.
His wealth was never a quiet affair. He did not just spend. He disbursed.
Musicians, politicians, socialites, church leaders. Anyone who amused him walked away richer. It was generosity as theatre. A car here. A house there. Cash to a stranger. And the nation watched.
In the two years before his death, his publicly declared handouts exceeded US$44 million. On his 45th birthday, he announced a US$5.3 million giveaway from a Seychelles resort, including Toyota Land Cruisers for Zanu PF’s Women’s League and buses for the Johanne Masowe Church.
Where the money came from remains a matter of speculation. A millionaire he was. Or he had access to millions.
He could have been a thief, some say. But no one could say what he stole or from whom.
In a country where enrichment is often opaque, he was strangely transparent. He did not seem to seek to hide anything. You could see through him. His purchases. His loyalties. His affections. Even his feuds with an ex-wife or an ex-mother-in-law. And what he thought of them. All conducted in the full glare of the public square.
He was married twice. His first wife, Sonja Madzikanda, mother of his two children, became embroiled in a multimillion-dollar divorce battle in 2024. He later married Lucy Muteke, known as Lulu. She died with him.
Some criticized his measured donations to public institutions. But then, he could never have donated too much. The government ought to have been doing that. To do so on a grand scale would have cast the state in a poor light. So, he went for luxury gifts. It was not a substitute for policy. It was a satire of it.
Sir Wicknell was cheeky. He spoke his mind. He let the world know who he met and what they did.
In a continent where leaders are venerated and their circles kept discreet, he brought the high and mighty down to a level of relatable ordinariness. He was photographed with presidents from Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
In August 2026, he attended the traditional engagement of President William Ruto’s daughter in Kenya. Ruto personally drove him to a helipad afterwards. He recorded it and expressed excitement.
He was a devout member of the Johanne Masowe apostolic sect. He said his philanthropy was prophesied. In the days before his death, he posted about meeting Nigerian preacher Apostle Joshua Selman in Johannesburg and hosting Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa for dinner at his Harare home.
He had sins. He was human. We all do. But his sins are not his alone. He cannot be faulted for his love of President Emmerson Mnangagwa who expressed ‘shock’ and was left ‘numb’ after his sudden death. Or the party, Zanu PF. They made him. He had no choice but to love it. To show gratitude for the love it showed him. And the millions it helped him make. He never hid his allegiance.
No matter what one thought of him, his death should not be celebrated. That is wrong. It was unheard of in Africa. When Africa was still Africa. And humane. It is sadly no longer true. That is sad. But it is also a question. What did he do so wrong for someone to celebrate his death? And what relief, if any, does it give those who do?
There is yet another question: Did he spark a new culture of giving among the rich? Will we see more of his kind? Or was he a one-off? A comet that burned brightly and briefly. Leaving only speculation and a fleet of luxury vehicles in its wake.
He died on September 30, 2026, in a helicopter crash near Marondera, east of Harare. He was 43. His wife Lucy, two pilots, and two other passengers also perished.
The nation mourns. Or part of it. Across Africa, presidents from Kenya and Tanzania. King Mswati lll. They mourn a different kind of entrepreneur. A man who turned giving into a show. And made us all watch the spectacle.
Do you have a story to share? Email bchiketo@gmail.com