Sonja Madzikanda and Esther Chivayo agree safeguards for joint administration of Wicknell Chivayo estate
Sonja Louise Madzikanda and Esther Chivayo have signed an undertaking setting out how they would jointly administer the estate of the late businessman Wicknell Munodaani Chivayo, including safeguards for his children’s money and procedures for decisions where either woman has a personal interest.
The agreement was signed in Harare on November 3 and placed before the Master of the High Court. It proposes Madzikanda, Chivayo’s former wife, and Esther, his sister, as co-executrices. The Master’s formal appointment remains a separate step: the parties’ agreement and letters to the office do not themselves amount to completed letters of administration.
The arrangement followed consultations between interested parties and represents a common proposal for managing an estate that includes business interests and assets still to be identified and valued. Madzikanda and Esther are expected to share oversight, but the undertaking also spells out when one must step aside so that a personal interest does not shape the estate’s position.
In a letter to the Master, Madzikanda’s lawyers, Mahuni Gidiri Law Chambers, said: “Following consultations between the interested parties, consensus has been reached for the appointment of co-executors to the estate, the co-executors being Ms Sonja Louise Madzikanda and Ms Esther Chivayo respectively.”
The firm asked that the agreement be added to the estate record, writing: “We respectfully request that the agreement be placed on and made part of the record of the deceased estate for your consideration and record,”
Esther’s lawyers, Caleb Mucheche and Partners Law Chambers, said she had been nominated by the family. Their letter stated: “Ms Esther Chivayo was unanimously nominated uncontested by the entire family to be the co-executrix of the estate of the late Wicknell Chivayo.”
The firm described Esther as Chivayo’s biological sister and next of kin. It said the family’s nomination was intended to protect the interests of his 2 young children while avoiding the additional expense of an independent executor. The lawyers also wrote: “We do hereby unequivocally confirm that the co-executrix agreement signed between our client Esther Chivayo and Sonya Madzikanda at Harare on 3 November 2026 and was lodged at your offices is lawful, legitimate, and legally binding between the parties.”
Disclosure and shared oversight
The undertaking requires both women to act jointly, honestly and diligently, with regard to beneficiaries, creditors and the minor children. Each must provide the other with comprehensive information about the estate, covering assets, liabilities, company shareholdings, investments, trusts and business interests.
Newly discovered information or documents must be shared within 2 business days. If disclosure is needed to protect estate property, it must be made immediately. The requirement is intended to ensure that both co-executrices have access to the same material when considering decisions about the estate.
They must also establish a written administration protocol. It is to cover bank mandates, approval of payments, custody of documents, company records, estate transactions and the protection of assets. Material dealings must be recorded and made accessible to both women.
Neither is to exercise unilateral control over estate property except where legally authorised or where action is reasonably necessary to prevent an imminent loss. The undertaking lists unauthorised transactions, hiding information, falsifying records, undisclosed conflicts and refusing to account for estate property as potential material breaches. An established breach could lead to proceedings seeking removal or other appropriate relief. The agreement itself does not automatically remove either woman.
Rules for possible conflicts
A key part of the undertaking addresses companies in which Esther holds shares alongside the late businessman. These businesses are to be listed in a schedule signed by both parties. When a decision concerns those companies, Madzikanda alone would represent the estate, exercise the rights attached to Chivayo’s shares, decide its position and instruct its lawyers.
Esther would withdraw from decision-making on those estate matters, while retaining her personal rights as a shareholder. The arrangement therefore separates her private shareholding from the estate’s interests in the same companies.
The agreement sets out the reverse arrangement where Madzikanda or the children have interests that may be adverse to the estate. In those matters, Esther alone would represent the estate and instruct its legal practitioners, while Madzikanda would step aside from decisions made on the estate’s behalf.
The listed matters include case HCHF 4826/26, involving Madzikanda, CBZ Bank Limited and the Master of the High Court; case HCHF 62/2026, concerning the proprietary consequences of the customary union between Madzikanda and Chivayo; and claims arising from the children’s interests under the High Court order in HCHF 892/26 or the Deceased Persons Family Maintenance Act.
The provisions mean that neither woman is to determine the estate’s position in a dispute where her own interests, or those of the children, are in conflict with it. The agreement calls for a case-by-case division of responsibility rather than giving either co-executrix unrestricted authority over every matter.
Children’s accounts kept separate
The undertaking specifically states that 2 accounts held in the names of John Chenjera Chivayo and Atarah Minana Chivayo at CBZ Bank’s Borrowdale branch belong to the children and are not part of their father’s estate.
Their management remains governed by paragraph 9 of an order made by Justice Tsanga on April 2, 2026, in case HCHF 892/26. Under the undertaking, Esther must not issue instructions to CBZ Bank or any other person concerning the accounts. Madzikanda’s rights and obligations under the existing order remain in place.
The provision gives the children’s funds a distinct status in the estate arrangements. It also makes clear that the accounts are not to be treated as assets available for general estate administration.
Estate administration and pending dispute
The estate had been registered with the Master of the High Court and an initial meeting had taken place before the co-executrix proposal was submitted. At that earlier stage, no executor or executrix had yet been appointed. A senior official at the Master’s Office said: “We can confirm that the estate has since been registered about three weeks ago, and a first meeting held. But the executor or executrix of the estate is yet to be appointed.”
The appointment matters for the handling of outstanding claims as well as the administration of assets. Madzikanda had a US$25 million matrimonial property and asset division dispute involving Chivayo awaiting determination by the Supreme Court when he died. The proceedings were removed from the court roll until an executor or executrix could represent his estate.
Chivayo’s lawyer, Advocate Sylvester Hashiti, said: “The matter was removed from the roll on account of appellant’s demise until such a time he is substituted by his executor or executrix who will represent him in court as concerns any claims against his estate.”
Chivayo died alongside his wife, Lucy Muteke, in a helicopter crash in Marondera on September 30. His death left 2 minor children and a range of personal and business interests to be dealt with through the estate. The estate’s value has not been officially established, and its assets, liabilities and any other claims will need to be set out as administration proceeds.
The letters from both legal teams place the proposed arrangement before the Master, while the undertaking lays out how the two women intend to work together. If the co-executrix arrangement is formally approved, they would share responsibility for identifying and safeguarding estate property, recording significant decisions and addressing claims, with the children’s interests specifically protected in the document.