Customs papers put Chivayo’s rejected US$250,000 Range Rover in Lewis Uriri’s name
HARARE — A luxury vehicle that the late Wicknell Chivayo publicly offered to lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri was imported and cleared through customs using Uriri’s identity documents, even though he had not agreed to accept the gift, documents show.
The paperwork relates to a 2026 Range Rover Sport Autobiography valued at US$250,000. It was bought from Johannesburg dealer Verve Auto Sports for R2,882,782 and cleared by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), with US$74,460.57 recorded as import duty. The customs documents identify Uriri as the importer and include an uncertified copy of an old passport bearing his name.
Uriri rejected the vehicle and cash offered alongside it. He said Chivayo’s public announcement had come without warning or prior discussion. The passport used in the customs process had been cancelled in 2024 after its pages ran out, and Uriri later obtained a replacement passport.
The documents place the customs transaction in Uriri’s name before Chivayo announced on 21 September that the vehicle was his gift. Chivayo said the offer recognised legal work Uriri had carried out for him over the years. The announcement came nine days before Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, died in a helicopter crash near Marondera on 30 September.
The car had been delivered to Exquisite Motors in Harare. Its owner, Victor Matiyenga, said the dealership only stored it at Chivayo’s request and had no part in buying or importing it.
“We had nothing whatsoever to do with its acquisition and importation,” Matiyenga said.
He confirmed the vehicle had since left the showroom but declined to say where it had been moved.
Uriri’s refusal
Chivayo’s public offer included US$50,000 described as money “for fuel”. A further US$50,000 was offered for Uriri’s wife, bringing the package to US$350,000 when the vehicle’s value was included. Uriri and his wife declined the car and both cash gifts.
Uriri said the announcement “came as a complete surprise, without prior notice or discussion”. He said the men’s relationship had been strained for years and that he had not done work for Chivayo since their earlier professional engagement had ended.
He said it was “necessary to decline benefits that could reasonably create a perception of personal financial obligation extending beyond a concluded and fully remunerated professional engagement”.
The decision came as Uriri was working with a legal team representing applicants challenging constitutional amendments affecting the presidency. The challenge concerns changes that extended President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term to 2030 and removed the direct election of the president by voters. The case was among several legal challenges to the amendments.
Chivayo later offered the same Range Rover to another lawyer, Advocate Silvester Hashiti, together with US$500,000 in cash. Hashiti had not collected the car before Chivayo’s death. Exquisite Motors directed him to the executor of Chivayo’s estate over the vehicle.
Passport at the centre of the import record
The identity document attached to the customs paperwork was an uncertified copy of Uriri’s old passport. That passport had been cancelled in 2024 because it had run out of pages. Uriri subsequently obtained a new passport.
The documents show a car bought in South Africa and a customs entry processed in Zimbabwe under Uriri’s name. Advocate Thabani Mpofu, who reviewed the documents, said the entry represented Uriri as the person who imported the vehicle and that the payment record was also presented in his name.
“You have a document that says Advocate Uriri imported a vehicle into the country. That document tells a lie about its own contents. The transfer (to settle customs duty) that is presented in Uriri’s name is false and fraudulent,” Mpofu said.
“Wicknell ought to have imported the vehicle in his name and thereafter lawfully donated it to Uriri. Upon acceptance of the donation, Uriri would then have taken title.”
Mpofu said the way the transaction was recorded could amount to “fraud against the due administration of justice”. He argued: “The vehicle was imported fraudulently, is the subject of the commission of criminal misconduct and must therefore be forfeited to the state.”
ZIMRA spokesman Gladman Njani declined to discuss the specific customs transaction, citing the authority’s confidentiality obligations.
“ZIMRA is bound by confidentiality obligations under the Revenue Authority Act [Chapter 23:11] and the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02]. These laws restrict the disclosure of information obtained in the course of official duties, except as permitted by law. Accordingly, ZIMRA cannot comment on the tax or customs affairs of specific individuals or entities,” Njani said.
“ZIMRA remains committed to the lawful and consistent administration of customs requirements, maintaining the integrity of its processes and safeguarding confidential information.”
Uriri declined to discuss the matter further. “You guys must just let Wicknell rest in peace,” he said.
Angel offers up to US$2 million for verified claims
The customs questions come as Chivayo’s estate faces claims from businesses that say they are owed money for vehicles supplied for his high-profile giveaways. Prophet Uebert Angel has offered to pay up to US$2 million towards debts left by his late friend, but said claimants would have to provide documentation to support what they say they are owed.
Angel made the offer while speaking to his congregation. He said the proposed ceiling matched the value of gifts Chivayo had given his family, including a Rolls-Royce, a 2026 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG and cash he described as “birthday lunch money”. Angel said he felt a moral obligation to help settle legitimate claims up to that amount because his own family had benefited from Chivayo’s generosity.
He asked individuals and businesses to submit formal proof through official channels. Angel said several people had already approached him and that he had arranged meetings to review documentation. He indicated that only substantiated debts would be considered, rather than claims made without supporting records.
Angel’s offer comes against a larger reported debt tally. Three Harare dealerships — Faramatsi Motors, Exquisite Cars and Enterprise Car Sales — have been linked to claims totalling about US$5.1 million. The amounts reported are US$2.4 million for Faramatsi Motors, US$1.4 million for Exquisite Cars and US$1.3 million for Enterprise Car Sales.
Those figures are not accepted by every dealer. Vikela said the reported amount attributed to his business was greatly exaggerated and said any money Chivayo owed Exquisite Cars “has been written off”. Faramatsi’s owner declined to discuss individual client transactions. Enterprise Car Sales owner Tendai Chipanga has said a number of vehicles given away by Chivayo had not been fully paid for before his death, with settlement expected to be addressed through the estate.
The credit arrangements reportedly allowed Chivayo to take vehicles and pay later, often within three months. The debts are now part of a wider effort to determine what remains owing and which claims can be supported by records. Angel’s offer is capped at US$2 million, below the combined amount attributed to the three Harare dealerships.
Chivayo, 43, and his wife were among six people killed when the helicopter came down in the Marondera rural area on 30 September. The crash occurred about 70 kilometres east of Harare. His public profile had been built in part on lavish gifts of vehicles and cash to public figures, religious leaders and others.
Uriri’s rejected Range Rover now sits at the intersection of that public gift-giving and the financial arrangements surrounding the late businessman. The customs papers record the car under the lawyer’s name, while Uriri says he refused the gift and Vikela says his dealership only stored it. Angel, meanwhile, has asked creditors seeking help to produce proof of their claims before he considers paying any part of them.