HARARE – Businessman Wicknell Chivayo marked his 45th birthday on Saturday with another staggering display of wealth, announcing a US$5.3 million giveaway while holidaying in Seychelles.
Chivayo flew to the Indian Ocean archipelago on his private jet, a Bombardier Challenger 300, and released details of his latest largesse — including buses and luxury vehicles — through social media posts.
The Intratrek Zimbabwe boss, who routinely avoids media interviews and refuses to discuss the origins of his fortune, has made millions from state contracts whose full scope has never been publicly disclosed. He has also paraded meetings with presidents of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Uganda, saying he is pursuing renewable energy investments across the region.
An analysis of his social media posts shows that in the last 24 months, Chivayo has spent more than US$70 million on cars, houses and cash gifts for celebrities, members of his Johanne Masowe Church, Zanu PF politicians, social media personalities and randomly selected people in need.
Saturday’s birthday spending is believed to be his costliest single-day outlay so far.
In his latest round of giveaways, Chivayo pledged six top-of-the-range Toyota Land Cruisers to leaders of Zanu PF’s women’s league; US$500,000 to be shared equally across the league’s 10 provincial structures; 10 Toyota Hilux GD6s for provincial women’s league leaders; and a further six Hiluxes plus US$100,000 for the Zanu PF affiliate, Young Women 4 ED.
He also donated ten 75-seater buses — each costing US$210,000 — to Johanne Masowe Church “women”, and gave a bus each to John Landa Nkomo Secondary School in Tsholotsho and Dudley Hall Primary School in Norton, where he began his education.
Chivayo spent his birthday at a five-star resort in Seychelles with his wife, Lulu, social media posts showed.
Earlier this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa rejected suggestions that Chivayo was “fronting” for him in a scheme to buy influence and political support.
“Where would I get the money to give him? … You can’t bother me about someone who is philanthropic,” Mnangagwa told journalists.
