A devastating aviation tragedy in rural Zimbabwe has claimed the life of one of the country’s most high-profile public figures, with prominent businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy Muteke confirmed among the six fatalities of a Wednesday evening helicopter crash.
The crash occurred just outside Marondera, a rural district located roughly 70 kilometers east of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, according to official police statements. All passengers and crew on board lost their lives when the aircraft went down shortly after departure.
Herbert Chivayo, family spokesperson, shared the heartbreaking confirmation of the couple’s deaths with Zimbabwe’s state-owned broadcaster ZBC, saying the entire family was left shattered by the sudden loss. “We are at a loss for words after the tragic news,” he told the outlet.
Initial official briefings confirm the aircraft carried six people total: two professional pilots and four passengers. Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana first confirmed the crash in a post on the social platform X, noting that early reports indicated no survivors had been found at the crash site. Local emergency response teams were dispatched immediately to the Kudenga Farm location, where the helicopter came down roughly 40 minutes after taking off from Gandani, Chikomba. Chivayo and his wife had been developing a private rural residence in the Chikomba area at the time of the flight.
As of Thursday, authorities have not released a definitive cause for the crash, and formal investigations into the accident remain ongoing. Police have not yet released the full identities of all six victims.
Widely known across Zimbabwe and the broader African continent for his outsized public persona, Chivayo built a reputation that mixed high-stakes business, overt displays of wealth, close ties to regional heads of state, and persistent public scrutiny of his government-linked contracts. He served as managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe, a infrastructure and energy firm that secured multiple large-scale public sector contracts over the past decade.
One of his most high-profile business deals was a $172 million solar power generation project awarded to Intratrek by state utility Zimbabwe Power Company in Gwanda. That contract became the center of years of drawn-out legal disputes that delayed implementation of the project. Chivayo also faced public scrutiny over procurement contracts linked to Zimbabwe’s 2023 general elections, when the country’s anti-corruption commission launched an inquiry into deals awarded to South African firm Ren-Form. The probe was closed in 2025, with investigators announcing no evidence of wrongdoing had been found linking Chivayo or the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to illegal activity.
Outside of boardrooms, Chivayo gained widespread attention for his lavish lifestyle and active social media presence, where he regularly shared photos of luxury goods and his high-profile acts of philanthropy. He frequently gifted luxury vehicles and large cash donations to Zimbabwean musicians, religious leaders, and other public figures, and documented the gifts on his Instagram platform for his large following.
Chivayo also cultivated extensive political connections across the African continent, and regularly posted photos of his private meetings with sitting heads of state, including South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Eswatini’s King Mswati III.
In the wake of news of his death, Kenyan President William Ruto, who counted Chivayo as a personal acquaintance, released a statement of condolence. “I will remember him for his friendship, his energy and his deep conviction in the possibilities of our continent,” Ruto wrote, calling Chivayo a “dear friend.”