Zimbabwe: Businessman Wicknell Chivayo killed in helicopter crash near Marondera

Six people, including 45-year-old Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy Muteke, were killed on September 30, 2026, around 5:00 p.m. in a helicopter crash in the rural area of Marondera, about sixty kilometers southeast of Harare. "The aircraft had six occupants," confirmed Zimbabwean police spokesperson Paul Nyathi, as quoted by ZimLive, who specified that two of them were pilots and that the aircraft was heading toward Harare.

The Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority indicated that the tail of the helicopter hit the ground first, causing a fuel leak and then a fire, reports Al Jazeera, which places the takeoff in Gandami about forty minutes before the accident. A technical investigation is underway, and no cause has been officially established.

A fortune built on public contracts

The death of Wicknell Chivayo goes far beyond a simple news item in Zimbabwe. As the founder of the Intratrek Zimbabwe group, he was at the heart of the Gwanda solar project, a 100-megawatt power plant whose construction had accumulated delays. ZimLive recalls his time in prison for fraud, followed by the securing of public contracts "worth hundreds of millions of dollars," some of which were awarded without following normal procurement procedures, as well as a contract of more than 110 million US dollars for the supply of equipment for the 2023 election. A commercial dispute was also ongoing between Intratrek and his former partners Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe.

No convictions had been handed down in the most recent cases, and Wicknell Chivayo had always denied the allegations of irregularities, notes Nehanda Radio.

Spectacular philanthropy and political networks

Nicknamed "Sir Wicknell," the founder of Intratrek had become famous on social media for gifting luxury cars and bundles of cash to musicians, pastors, and public figures. ZimLive estimates the public donations made over two years at more than 50.3 million dollars; a 2025 report cited by Al Jazeera mentions approximately 9.3 million dollars spent on vehicles and gifts.

This generosity went hand in hand with a visible closeness to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and several leaders on the continent. In June 2026, King Mswati III granted the businessman Eswatini citizenship and diplomatic documents, according to Al Jazeera; Kenyan President William Ruto had referred to him as "a dear friend."

What the case leaves unresolved

Beyond the aeronautical investigation, the death of this figure leaves open the accountability issues he embodied: the completion of the Gwanda power plant, the fate of the dispute with his former associates, and, more broadly, the question of transparency in Zimbabwean public procurement. For citizens, these billions committed in their name remain to be audited.