More than a month after the helicopter crash that killed businessman Wicknell Chivayo, his wife and three others, Zimbabwe’s police say they are still waiting for findings from other agencies before a consolidated investigation report can be issued.
The Bell 430 helicopter went down at Kudenga Farm in rural Marondera on September 30, killing all five people aboard. The deadline for a preliminary report, announced by the Government in the days after the crash, passed at the end of October without findings being made public.
Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the inquiry involved several state bodies and was not being handled by the Zimbabwe Republic Police alone.
“Remember, the government set up a team to investigate the matter, and we are waiting for other members to submit their findings before a consolidated report is issued,” Nyathi said. “It’s not solely the responsibility of the ZRP — other agencies are also involved.”
Nyathi gave no date for the report’s release. The delay leaves unanswered the central question of what caused the aircraft to crash, even as investigators have moved from the scene to a more detailed examination of the wreckage and records connected with the flight.
The helicopter was travelling from Gandami in Chikomba District towards Marondera after Chivayo had been visiting a property where construction work was under way. It crashed about 40 minutes after take-off. The five people named by police were Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteke, her aide Sanelisiwe Magagula, pilot Captain Calvin Soda and co-pilot Captain Courage Mutavirwa.
An initial public account gave the number of people aboard as six. Police later confirmed there were five occupants and named them, a figure repeated in the Government’s Cabinet briefing on the crash.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe said early observations at the scene showed that fuel spilled after impact and a fire burnt grass around the wreckage. Those observations describe what happened after the helicopter hit the ground; officials have not announced a cause for the crash.
In its October 6 briefing, Cabinet said the preliminary on-site examination had been completed and the wreckage taken to the Government hangar at Charles Prince Airport. The aircraft was to undergo detailed forensic examination with international experts. Information Minister Zhemu Soda said the preliminary report would cover the wreckage, weather conditions, maintenance records, and information about the helicopter’s operator and crew.
The report was expected within 30 days of the September 30 accident. It was intended to provide an initial account of the inquiry’s findings, not simply a description of the scene. No public update has since set out what the forensic examination has established or whether investigators have completed work on the flight and maintenance records.
The wreckage was recovered after investigators finished at Kudenga Farm. The bodies were also badly damaged in the crash and fire, requiring forensic identification procedures before Chivayo and Muteke could be buried. The couple were laid to rest at Glen Forest Memorial Park in Harare. Magagula and the two pilots were buried separately.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa accorded Chivayo provincial hero status two days after the crash. Mnangagwa and Kenyan President William Ruto, who had both cultivated public friendships with the businessman, paid tribute to him after his death. The scale of the public response reflected the sharply divided views Chivayo had attracted during his life: some people celebrated his high-profile gifts, while others saw his conspicuous wealth and closeness to political leaders as emblematic of a system shaped by state contracts and patronage.
Chivayo was one of Zimbabwe’s most visible business figures. He posted images of luxury cars, designer clothes and meetings with political leaders on social media, and became known as “Sir Wicknell” for his public gifts of vehicles and money to musicians, church figures, sports personalities and political supporters.
His business career had long drawn scrutiny. In 2005, he was convicted in a money-laundering case and served 3 years of a 5-year prison sentence. He later founded Intratrek Zimbabwe, an engineering and construction company that secured a major contract to build the Gwanda solar power plant for state-owned Zimbabwe Power Company. The project remained stalled for years, and the company received an advance payment of about US$5 million.
The solar project became the subject of a criminal case involving allegations over the advance payment. Chivayo denied wrongdoing. The case was struck from the court roll in 2023 after delays by prosecutors, while a separate contract dispute ended with an order requiring the power company either to perform the contract or pay Intratrek US$22 million. Chivayo was acquitted of fraud in that matter.
His political visibility grew further in 2026 when he announced a US$3.6 million donation for Members of Parliament and senators, describing it as funding for constituency development. He later withdrew that pledge and offered US$5 million through ZANU-PF provincial structures, ahead of a proposed constitutional vote linked to extending Mnangagwa’s term in office. The donation became another flashpoint around Chivayo’s relationship with the ruling party and the access enjoyed by wealthy businesspeople with government-linked contracts.
The crash has brought that public attention back to the state agencies now responsible for explaining how the helicopter came down. At the time of the October Cabinet briefing, officials said the inquiry would draw on physical evidence from the wreckage as well as weather, maintenance, operator and crew records. Police now say they cannot issue a consolidated account until the other members of the investigation team submit their findings.
For the families of the five people who died, the investigation concerns the circumstances of a fatal flight. For the wider public, the unanswered questions remain attached to one of the country’s most prominent and divisive businessmen. More than 30 days after the Government set out its expected timetable, officials have not announced when the preliminary report will be released.