Wicknell Chivayo Biography: Net Worth, Parents, Wife, Children, Age, Cause of Death, Family
Wicknell Munodaani Chivayo, also known as Sir Wicknell, was a Zimbabwean businessman and the founder and managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe (Private) Limited.
He was born on 22 November 1982 and grew up in the rural area of Gandami, Chivhu, where he attended Dudley Hall Primary School and Churchill Boys High School. His father, Isaac Mathias Chivayo, died in a car accident when he was about ten years old, and his mother raised him afterwards.
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Chivayo was best known for the Gwanda Solar Project and for government tenders. He faced several rounds of prosecution over the project’s advance payment and was ultimately acquitted in 2024. He was a publicly declared ZANU-PF supporter. He was photographed with a number of African heads of state, including leaders of Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Kenya.
He was also publicly known for high-value gifts to musicians, journalists, sports organizations, and security forces. He described himself as a devout member of the Johane Masowe Echishanu apostolic sect.
Opinion on Chivayo remains divided: admirers saw audacious generosity, while critics saw a populist showman whose wealth was tied to political connections.
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Wicknell Munodaani Chivayo |
| Stage Name: | Sir Wicknell |
| Born: | 22 November 1982 |
| Died: | 30 September 2026 (age 43 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Chivhu, Zimbabwe |
| Nationality: | Zimbabwean |
| Ethnicity: | Shona |
| Education: | Dudley Hall Primary School, Churchill Boys High School |
| Religion: | Johane Masowe Echishanu apostolic sect |
| Parents: | Isaac Mathias Chivayo, Canisia Chivayo |
| Siblings: | Moreblessings Vanessa Chivayo |
| Spouse: | Sonja Louise Madzikanda (m. 2017-2024), Lucy Muteke (m. 2025-2026) |
| Relationship: | Lucy Muteke (2024-2025) |
| Children: | John Chenjera Chivayo, Atarah Minana Chivayo |
| Occupation: | Businessman |
| Net Worth: | $10 million-$100 million |
Early Life & Education
Wicknell Munodaani Chivayo was born on 22 November 1982 in Chivhu, Zimbabwe, according to his own account, and his zodiac sign was Sagittarius. Some reports place his birth in Bindura instead.
He grew up in the rural area of Gandami, Chivhu, in a humble family, and by his own account, the hardships of those years fuelled his hunger for success.
He belonged to the Shona ethnic group, the predominant ethnicity in Zimbabwe. He was a devout member of the Johane Masowe Echishanu apostolic sect, a faith he spoke about openly.
His mother, the late Canisia Chivayo, raised him after his father, Isaac Mathias Chivayo, died in a car accident when he was about ten years old. He described his mother as his pillar of strength and his father as his hero. His sister is Moe Chivayo.
He attended Dudley Hall Primary School for his primary education and Churchill Boys High School for his secondary education.
Career
Wicknell Chivayo left school in 1996 and worked as a wages clerk at a local bus company before moving into foreign currency trading at the Union Avenue Flea Market in Harare. In 2004, he was convicted of theft by false pretences over a failed currency transaction and sentenced to three years at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
He later founded Intratrek Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, a company that secured government contracts in the energy and infrastructure sectors, and he was also associated with the telecommunications company IMC Communications.
His defining deal came in 2015, when Intratrek won a contract valued at about US$172 million to build a 100-megawatt solar power plant in Gwanda, known as the Gwanda Solar Project, under the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority and the Zimbabwe Power Company. The company received a US$5 million advance payment, but no substantive construction followed, and parliamentary reviews found that payment certificates had been issued without matching progress.
The project led to years of legal proceedings. Chivayo was arrested in 2011 on eight counts of fraud and money laundering and was acquitted of all of them. He was arrested again in August 2018 over the advance payment, and in March 2019 the High Court ruled that the facts did not disclose an offence.
The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe reversed that ruling in June 2020 and ordered him to stand trial, and he was acquitted again in 2024 after the court found that the state had failed to establish a case. A separate charge of bribing former Zimbabwe Power Company board chairman Stanley Kazhanje with US$10,000 was also dismissed. In March 2025, the government announced a review of the Gwanda contract with a view to reviving the project under revised terms.
Chivayo was a publicly declared supporter of ZANU-PF and of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. In 2024, leaked audio recordings linked him to a US$100 million contract to supply election materials to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission ahead of the 2023 general election, and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission announced in December 2025 that it had found no evidence directly implicating him.
His influence also extended beyond Zimbabwe: he developed close ties with Kenyan President William Ruto in 2025, and in June 2026 his company, IMC Construction Kenya, secured a stake in the proposed US$2.9 billion expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as a joint-venture partner of a consortium led by China Communications Construction Company.
He was equally known for lavish public giving. Zimbabwean media reported that he spent over US$9.3 million on luxury cars and gifts within a twelve-month period. Recipients included musician Jah Prayzah, who received a Range Rover and US$150,000 in cash, and broadcaster Reuben Barwe, who received a Land Cruiser and US$100,000.
In December 2025, he donated 20 luxury vehicles and US$2 million to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and the Zimbabwe Prisons Service, and he also gifted vehicles to Zimbabwe Football Association president Nqobile Magwizi.
Chivayo died on 30 September 2026 when a helicopter carrying him and his wife, Lucy Muteke, crashed at Kudenga Farm in Marondera, killing all six people aboard. The group had left Gandami, where the couple had been supervising construction of their rural home.
Social Media
- Wikipedia: Wicknell Chivayo
- Instagram: Wicknell Chivayo (@sir_wicknell)
Personal Life
Wicknell Chivayo was 43 years old when he died on 30 September 2026, according to his own account of a 22 November 1982 birth date. Some references list 1980 as his birth year, which would put his age at death at 45.
He was married twice. He paid lobola for Sonja Louise Madzikanda, an accountant and entrepreneur, in July 2017, reportedly with a bride price of US$50,000, and the couple held a wedding ceremony in December 2017 that the late musician Oliver Mtukudzi performed at.
The marriage lasted seven years and ended in 2024, with Chivayo citing irreconcilable tensions between his wife and his family. In March 2025, he married Lucy Muteke, popularly known as “Lulu Muteke”, in traditional and religious ceremonies that included a celebration within the Johane Masowe Echishanu congregation.
She worked in luxury retail as a personal shopper and was also a model and social media personality. She was his wife at the time of his death and died alongside him in the same helicopter crash.
Chivayo had two children with Sonja Louise Madzikanda: a son, John Chenjera Chivayo, born in January 2018, and a daughter, Atarah Minana Chivayo, born in March 2019.
He publicly shared DNA test results in 2018 confirming he was the father of his son. Following the divorce, a court arrangement gave their mother primary residence of the children while allowing him regular access. No children with Lucy Muteke were publicly confirmed. His height is not publicly confirmed.
His dating life played out openly on social media. In late 2016, he drew widespread attention when he announced that getting married would be his New Year’s resolution, posted a list of requirements for a future wife, and married Sonja Louise Madzikanda in 2017.
After that marriage ended, he began a relationship with Lucy Muteke in late 2024. He first shared photographs of a woman whose face was hidden and described her as his girlfriend, then posted photos of their holiday in Victoria Falls and announced plans to pay a bride price of US$100,000. His sister, Moreblessings Vanessa Chivayo, later publicly identified her as Lucy Muteke, and the couple married a few months afterwards.
Cause of Death
Chivayo died on 30 September 2026 in a helicopter crash at Kudenga Farm in Marondera Rural, east of Harare. He and his wife, Lucy Muteke, were aboard with four others after leaving Gandami in Chikomba, where they had been supervising construction of their rural home.
The aircraft crashed about 40 minutes after take-off and burst into flames, and none of the six people on board survived. His family spokesman, Herbert Chivayo, confirmed the deaths to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. Kenyan President William Ruto paid tribute to him as a dear friend.
What caused the crash had not been publicly established in early reports.
Net Worth
Wicknell Chivayo, the late Zimbabwean businessman and founder of Intratrek Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, had a net worth between $10 million and $100 million.
He said himself that he ran a portfolio of projects worth over half a billion dollars across Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and South Africa, and he spoke openly of his ambition to become Zimbabwe’s first young billionaire.
His wealth came largely from energy and infrastructure contracts, led by the roughly US$172 million Gwanda Solar Project awarded in 2015, along with his business interests in Kenya and across the region.
His spending reflected the scale of his fortune: Zimbabwean media reported that he spent over US$9.3 million on luxury cars and gifts within a twelve-month period, with cash gifts averaging around $200,000 and reaching as high as $1 million in the case of the Zion Christian Church.
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