Departures of note

Wicknell Chivayo was a Zimbabwean businessman and founder and chief executive of the company Intratrek Zimbabwe. He rose to prominence as one of the country's most visible tycoons, known for his close ties to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party, as well as for extravagant public displays of wealth that contrasted sharply with the economic hardships faced by many of his compatriots. He frequently made high-value gifts to musicians, journalists, sports organisations and security forces, and an investigation by Zimbabwean media found that between 2024 and 2025 he spent more than 9.3 million dollars on luxury cars and gifts. He also moved in the circles of African leaders, including Kenyan President William Ruto, who invited him to a traditional engagement ceremony for his daughter in August. Chivayo had a criminal record dating to 2004, when he was sentenced to three years in prison for money laundering. He died at the age of 43 in a helicopter crash on a farm in the Marondera Rural area of Mashonaland East province, around 70 kilometres from Harare, together with his wife Lucy Muteke and four other people aboard the aircraft.