“Cars, cash handouts to continue”- Chivayo brother aka G6

By Lovemore Lubinda

HARARE-(MaraviPost)-The famous car and cash handouts that made late Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo a household name will continue, even as his family prepares an executive send-off to match his flamboyant life.

That was the assurance given by his younger brother and heir apparent Joachim Chivayo (G6), who says the family will maintain Sir Wicknell’s philanthropic legacy despite his death in a helicopter crash on September 30.

Chivayo, 43, died together with his wife Lucy “Lulu” Muteke, aide Sanelisiwe Magagula and pilots Calvin Soda and Courage Mutavira when their Bell 430 helicopter, registration Z-PED, crashed at Kudenga Farm in Mashonaland East.

The aircraft went down about 40 minutes after taking off from their rural home in Gandami, Chikomba District, while flying to Marondera in bad weather.

Known for turning gifting into a public spectacle, Chivayo handed out more than 50 luxury vehicles in the last 18 months alone, including Toyota Aquas, Mercedes-Benzes, Hilux double cabs and buses to musicians Jah Prayzah, Sulumani Chimbetu, DJ Fantan, Seh Calaz, church leaders, ZANU PF supporters, journalists and war veterans.

He also distributed millions in US dollars in cash, often posting videos counting bundles on social media.

Many Zimbabweans believed the handouts would die with him.

G6 says they will not.

“People loved Sir Wicknell because he loved giving. That spirit did not crash with the helicopter. Cars, cash handouts to continue. The legacy of giving is what he wanted us to protect,” G6 told mourners in Harare on Monday.

“The captain is no longer here, but the ship is very stable and will continue sailing. Those who were expecting our family to be left stranded will be shocked.”

According to G6, Chivayo left a structured system for his philanthropy, with lists of pending beneficiaries and allocated funds. Several musicians and churches who had been promised cars before his death are still expected to receive them in the coming weeks.

The announcement was met with cheers from supporters gathered at the Borrowdale residence, many of whom had benefited or hoped to benefit from Chivayo’s generosity.

G6 also moved to reassure the public on two other sensitive issues. Family elder Herbert Chivayo has clarified that Chivayo’s two children from his first marriage to Sonja Madzikanda – John Chenjerai, 8, and Atara Minana, 7 – will inherit most of his estate.

G6 said continuation of handouts does not mean neglecting the children’s inheritance, but rather preserving the brand that kept their father politically relevant.

He also appealed for patience from creditors claiming to be owed money, calling for peaceful resolution through family lawyers.

Even in death, that same opulence is visible at the couple’s final resting place.

Two identical executive granite-encased vault graves have been prepared for Wicknell and Lulu at Glen Forest Memorial Park in Harare, one of Zimbabwe’s most exclusive private cemeteries.

The graves are located in the famed Royal Estate section of the park, a manicured enclave reserved for Zimbabwe’s political and business elite along Enterprise Road.

The cemetery markets itself as Sahwira Mukuru, or True Friend, offering perpetual maintenance and 24-hour security.

Workers have already completed the installation of polished grey granite linings, a signature of high-end burials that has become a status symbol.

Unlike ordinary graves in Zimbabwe typically lined with farm bricks and cement plaster and prone to caving in during the rainy season, the Chivayos’ vaults are fully encased.

Both the interior walls, the floor and the top coping are clad in thick, imported grey granite slabs, cut and polished off-site and then meticulously assembled on site.

The finish is reflective, seamless and waterproof, designed to prevent soil collapse, block water seepage and preserve the chamber permanently.

It transforms the grave from a simple hole into a permanent underground house.

The two vaults sit side by side on a manicured green lawn under a white canopy, indicating a planned double interment.

Funeral directors in Harare say such a vault costs between $3,000 and $6,000 for the granite work alone, before casket and services. A full Royal Estate burial can exceed $15,000 to $20,000 in a country where most funerals cost less than $500.

For wealthy families like the Chivayos, granite vault graves are more than burial holes.

They are houses for eternity, ensuring the grave never caves in, never needs re-digging and stands as a permanent monument.

It is a final statement of love, legacy and status.

Even as G6 promises that cars and cash will continue to flow on the streets, the message from Glen Forest is that Wicknell and Lulu Chivayo will rest in executive style, side by side, in houses of stone meant to last forever.