Zimbabwe helicopter crash kills Wicknell Chivayo, wife and four others

A helicopter crash in rural Marondera, Zimbabwe, at about 17:00 local time on Wednesday, 30 September, killed businessman Wicknell Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteke and four others. The aircraft carried four passengers and two pilots, and there were no survivors.¹²³⁴

Crash near Marondera

While returning from Gandami in Chikomba, the group’s helicopter crashed at Kudenga Farm roughly 40 minutes after departure. Chivayo had been coordinating a development project in Gandami, according to reports cited by Deutsche Welle. The BBC placed the crash site about 70km east of Harare.¹²³

Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana initially described those aboard as a prominent businessman, four passengers and two pilots, but later revised the passenger count from four to three, according to The Straits Times. That left a total of six occupants: the businessman, three other passengers and the two pilots.¹⁴

Investigation under way

Police opened an investigation and emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene. Al Jazeera reported that forensic specialists and investigators were also sent, while senior officials were expected to visit. The BBC said the cause was not immediately known.¹³⁴

Al Jazeera, citing early indications, reported that the tail struck the ground first. Fuel then spilled and a fire spread along the ground, the outlet said. Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said the bodies had been severely burned, and Deutsche Welle reported that police used DNA testing and other checks to establish the victims’ identities.²³⁴

Deaths confirmed

Chivayo’s family and President Emmerson Mnangagwa confirmed that Chivayo and Muteke had been aboard, according to Deutsche Welle. Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo said: “We are at a loss for words after the tragic news.” The other four people killed were not named in the dossier.¹²

Kenyan President William Ruto offered condolences to the victims’ families and to Zimbabwe’s president and people. Describing Chivayo as a “dear friend”, Ruto said: “I will remember him for his friendship, his energy and his deep conviction in the possibilities of our continent.” Mnangagwa also published an online tribute to Chivayo and his family.¹²³

Business and political profile

Deutsche Welle reported that Chivayo was 43 and had obtained several government contracts. The BBC described him as managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe, which received a $172 million solar project in Gwanda from the state-owned Zimbabwe Power Company. Deutsche Welle also described him as a prominent Mnangagwa supporter who had developed close relations with the president and the ruling ZANU-PF party.¹²

Chivayo was arrested in 2018 over the alleged misuse of a large advance connected with a solar project, Deutsche Welle reported. According to the outlet, a judge dismissed that case five years later because prosecutors had delayed proceedings, and Chivayo consistently rejected corruption allegations. In a separate report, the BBC said Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption commission ended its 2025 investigation into Ren-Form-related contracts after finding nothing that implicated either Chivayo or the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in wrongdoing.¹²

Al Jazeera reported that King Mswati III granted Chivayo Eswatini citizenship and a diplomatic passport in June. Also in June, Chivayo said he planned to develop a 300MW solar project in Eswatini.³