…Vows to keep flying after Chivayo crash….
By Lovemore Lubinda
HARARE-(MaraviPost)-A senior advisor to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has vowed to continue flying in helicopters despite public prophecies and warnings following the helicopter crash that killed controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife.
Presidential advisor Dr Paul Tungwarara, in a defiant statement posted on his social media handle, said he had been inundated with warnings to abandon helicopter travel since Chivayo’s death, but insisted he would not live in fear.
“We are flying to Mberengwa. People have been bringing various prophecies and warnings, telling us to stop using helicopters as our mode of transport because our dear brother, Sir Wicknell Chivhayo, perished in a helicopter crash,” Tungwarara wrote.
“However, I am not going to stop flying in helicopters out of fear of the unknown. None of us will escape this life alive. We should never live in fear of death as if we were immortal, all mortals must die. We will continue to fly in helicopters to honor Sir Wicknell Chivhayo.”
His comments come as Zimbabwe remains in shock following the death of one of its most high-profile and polarising businessmen.
How Chivayo died
Wicknell Chivayo, 43, and his wife Lucy Muteke, 35, were among six people killed when their private helicopter crashed in rural Zimbabwe on Wednesday, September 30.
According to police and government officials, the helicopter came down at around 5:00 p.m. local time at Kudenga Farm in the Marondera Rural area, about 70 kilometres east of the capital, Harare.
The aircraft had taken off about 40 minutes earlier from Gandami in Chikomba district, where the couple was building a rural home. Zimbabwe Republic Police confirmed that all five occupants on board died, including two pilots.
Government spokesman Nick Mangwana said: “Current information indicates that there were no survivors in this crash”.
Emergency crews who responded to the scene found fuel had spilled and ignited, burning grass around the wreckage. On Thursday, aviation officials led by Transport Minister Felix Mhona recovered the helicopter’s black box as investigations began. The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo confirmed the deaths, telling state broadcaster ZBC: “We are at a loss for words after the tragic news”.
Chivayo was the managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe and rose to prominence through lucrative government contracts, including a $172 million solar project in Gwanda. Known for his lavish lifestyle and flamboyant philanthropy under the self-styled title “Sir Wicknell”, he was a close ally of President Mnangagwa and a fixture in Zimbabwe’s political and social circles.
President Mnangagwa, in a condolence message on October 1, said the nation was “numb and in deep shock,” describing Chivayo as a man whose generosity “touched so many lives.”
The crash has triggered a wave of superstition and prophecy on Zimbabwean social media, with several self-styled prophets warning senior government officials and businesspeople to avoid helicopters. The warnings prompted Tungwarara’s pushback.
Analysts say Tungwarara’s statement reflects the ruling Zanu-PF elite’s reliance on helicopters to reach rural development projects, particularly in hard-to-reach areas like Mberengwa in the Midlands province, where road infrastructure remains poor.
Despite safety concerns over Zimbabwe’s ageing charter fleet, the advisor said halting helicopter use would dishonour Chivayo’s memory, rather than protect it.
Burial for Chivayo and his wife is scheduled for Thursday, October 8 at Glen Forest Cemetery in Harare, in a ceremony the family has said will be open to the public.
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