Six killed in Zimbabwe helicopter crash involving businessman Wicknell Chivayo

Six people were killed when a helicopter crashed in Zimbabwe’s Marondera rural area east of Harare, with businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, among those reported dead.

ZBC reported the deaths, while police said the crash happened at about 1500 GMT in Marondera, approximately 72 kilometres east of the capital. The helicopter had departed the Chivayo family home in Gandami, which is about 144 kilometres from Harare.

Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo confirmed to ZBC that Wicknell Chivayo and Muteke were among the victims. He said the aircraft caught fire when it came down.

“When it crashed, it burst into flames,” Herbert Chivayo said.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana said the helicopter was carrying a high-profile businessman, three other passengers and two pilots. He said available information indicated that there were no survivors.

Police had not immediately confirmed the identities of all those killed. The accounts also contain a discrepancy over the number of people aboard. Police and the government said there were six occupants, while Herbert Chivayo named five people: the two pilots, Chivayo’s security aide, Muteke and Chivayo.

Authorities were expected to confirm the victims’ identities in due course. The cause of the crash was not provided in the available statements.

Business and political profile

Chivayo, reported to be 43, was a prominent Zimbabwean businessman known for public displays of wealth, including luxury vehicles, cash donations and other gifts. He was also described as having close ties to ZANU-PF and President Emmerson Mnangagwa, relationships that had contributed to public cynicism around his profile.

Weeks before the crash, he reportedly gave a Zimbabwean preacher and the preacher’s wife a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and a Maybach. He also reportedly donated $2 million in cash, along with buses and cars, to another church.

The source report said Chivayo spent three years in jail around two decades ago following a money-laundering conviction.

Intratrek contract

Chivayo was associated with Intratrek Zimbabwe, a contractor involved in energy projects. In 2015, the company won a government contract worth more than $170 million to build a 100-megawatt solar plant in Gwanda, a town in southwestern Zimbabwe.

The state-run power utility later sought to terminate the contract over delays, according to the source report. Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the agreement was valid, and the government subsequently ordered that the project should proceed.