Zimbabwean Businessman Wicknell Chivayo and Wife Among Six Killed in Helicopter Crash

A prominent Zimbabwean businessman known for his flamboyant lifestyle and close ties to several African heads of state has died in a helicopter crash that killed all six people on board, his family has confirmed.

Wicknell Chivayo, who was travelling with his wife Lucy Muteke, was among the victims of the crash, which occurred in the Marondera rural area roughly 70km (43 miles) east of the capital, Harare, on Wednesday evening. Police said everyone aboard the aircraft perished.

A family spokesperson, Herbert Chivayo, confirmed the deaths of the businessman and his wife to the state broadcaster ZBC, describing the family as devastated by the tragedy.

The aircraft went down at approximately 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT), according to police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi. Government officials said two of the six occupants were pilots.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana had earlier confirmed the crash, stating that the helicopter was carrying "a prominent businessman, three other passengers and two pilots". In a post on X, he added that information available at the time indicated there were no survivors. Authorities did not immediately identify all of those on board.

According to ZBC, the group had been travelling from Gandami in Chikomba, where Chivayo and his wife were building a rural home, when the helicopter came down at Kudenga Farm, about 40 minutes after take-off. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene on Wednesday evening.

The cause of the crash remained unknown in the immediate aftermath, and police said an investigation was under way. The absence of an early explanation for the incident is likely to fuel public speculation in a country where the businessman's high profile ensured that news of his death spread rapidly.

Chivayo was the managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe, a company through which he built a national profile that combined lucrative government contracts, philanthropy and conspicuous displays of wealth on social media. He was widely known by the self-styled title "Sir Wicknell", which he used frequently in public and online even though he never received a British knighthood. His social media accounts, where he documented his lifestyle and his generosity, formed a central part of his public persona.

Among his best-known ventures was a $172m (£128m) solar power project in Gwanda awarded to Intratrek by the state-owned Zimbabwe Power Company. That deal became the subject of years of legal disputes, making it one of the most closely watched commercial battles in the country.

He also faced scrutiny over the procurement of materials for Zimbabwe's disputed 2023 elections. The country's anti-corruption commission examined allegations surrounding contracts awarded to the South African company Ren-Form, but closed the inquiry in 2025 after saying it had found no evidence connecting Chivayo or the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to wrongdoing. Throughout, Chivayo denied allegations of wrongdoing linked to his business dealings.

Beyond his commercial activities, Chivayo was known for giving away luxury cars and large sums of money to musicians, religious leaders and other public figures, often publicising the gifts on social media. The practice made him a familiar figure far beyond business circles and helped cultivate an image that mixed celebrity, philanthropy and political access.

His connections extended well beyond Zimbabwe's borders. Kenya's President William Ruto, who had previously appeared in public alongside Chivayo, paid tribute to him as a "dear friend" and extended condolences to the families of those killed. "I will remember him for his friendship, his energy and his deep conviction in the possibilities of our continent," Ruto said.

Chivayo routinely publicised his access to African leaders, posting photographs of meetings with presidents including Zambia's Hakainde Hichilema, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa and Tanzania's Samia Suluhu Hassan, as well as Eswatini's King Mswati III. That visibility had not gone unchallenged: Kenyan opposition figures had previously questioned the repeated access he enjoyed to Ruto and State House, reflecting the broader controversy that often accompanied his proximity to power.

The crash has drawn attention both to the loss of life and to the security and regulatory questions that surround private helicopter travel in the region. Investigators will be expected to establish whether mechanical failure, weather conditions or human factors played a role in bringing down the aircraft roughly 40 minutes into its journey.

For now, the family's confirmation has ended uncertainty about the fate of the businessman and his wife, but it leaves many questions unanswered about how a routine trip connected to the construction of a rural home ended in one of the deadliest aviation incidents to touch Zimbabwe's business community in recent years.