- Published
Wicknell Chivayo, the Zimbabwean tycoon who died in a helicopter crash along with his wife Lucy Muteke last week, divided opinion in life and continues to do so in death.
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who → publish → death
He called himself "Sir Wicknell", a nod to the embellishment that epitomised his lifestyle - and a nickname some used for the 45-year-old who packed enough controversy into his short life to last several lifetimes.
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who → call → lifetimes
He was relentlessly self-documenting, building much of his public persona on social media, where he posed with piles of cash and announced the cars and money he gave to people whom he considered deserving.
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he → document → people
Chivayo delighted in displaying his access to heads of state across Africa and showing off his possessions, conducting video tours of his fleet of expensive cars, mainly Rolls-Royces, with vanity plates, watches and a vast collection of designer shoes.
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Chivayo → delight → shoes
His admirers saw a fabulously wealthy man sharing his good fortune.
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admirers → see → fortune
His detractors recoiled at the ostentatious displays, questioned the origins of his money and his political connections, and saw his lifestyle as a stark illustration of inequality.
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detractors → recoil → inequality
But Chivayo remained tone-deaf to such criticism.
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Chivayo → remain → criticism
As his fortunes rose, he became ever more unapologetic about flaunting his wealth in a country where nearly half the population lives below the international poverty line, according to the World Bank.
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population → rise → Bank
"He gave to those few on an island of wealth in a sea of poverty," Pedzisai Ruhanya, director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute think-tank, told the BBC, explaining how his donations were mainly to influential people.
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donations → give → people
He dismissed Chivayo's generosity as grandstanding for the ruling Zanu-PF party - an attempt to ensure the support of key politicians and even church leaders.
Nonetheless, there has been an outpouring of grief, especially from recipients of his largesse, and tributes from politicians, religious leaders and business figures.
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He → dismiss → politicians
Among the mourners gathered at the Chivayos' opulent home in the capital, Harare, ahead of their burial on Thursday, was Cleopas Mukungunugwa, a young and prominent Zanu-PF social media influencer and recipient of two luxury cars from Sir Wicknell.
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Mukungunugwa → gather → Wicknell
Standing outside the mansion, where a massive poster of the couple is displayed, he told local media that he was devastated by his patron's death, external, explaining how "Sir Wicknell" often dictated what he should write in his posts.
"He was criticised by many on social media and our goal was to bolster his reputation as a philanthropist," he said.
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he → stand → philanthropist
Chivayo dropped out of high school aged 15 because his family could no longer afford the fees after his father died when he was 10.
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he → drop → fees
From there, he moved into his first independent hustle - selling mobile phones and dealing in foreign currency, often on the black market at the height of the country's hyperinflation crisis.
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he → move → crisis
In 2005, he was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering involving 837,000 South African rand (then worth $137,500, £72,000).
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he → sentence → rand
He served three years at Chikurubi Maximum Prison after two years were suspended.
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years → serve → Prison
Details of his career following his release are murky, but he went into the energy business, becoming what one state-run newspaper described as a "tenderpreneur" -making money by getting government contracts.
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newspaper → follow → contracts
He headed the firm Intratrek Zimbabwe, which partnered with Chinese electrical giant CHiNT Electric.
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which → head → Electric
This was at a time when legislation required all companies in the country to cede economic control to black Zimbabweans, under a policy known as indigenisation.
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legislation → require → indigenisation
In 2014, Intratrek was selected to build a 100MW solar power station in the southern town of Gwanda.
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Intratrek → select → Gwanda
A contract worth more than $170m was signed the following year.
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contract → sign → ?
It became one of the biggest controversies of Chivayo's business career.
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It → become → career
Zimbabwe Power Company, the state-owned utility that awarded the contract, sought to terminate it when Intratrek failed to deliver, but the courts ultimately ruled that the agreement remained valid.
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agreement → own → it
A parliamentary inquiry later described Intratrek as a "briefcase company" being used as a front to attract investment.
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inquiry → describe → investment
Chivayo acknowledged that Intratrek lacked expertise in solar construction, describing it as the local partner while CHiNT provided the technical muscle.
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CHiNT → acknowledge → muscle
Intratrek received an advance of more than $5m for the Gwanda solar plant, but it remains unbuilt to this day.
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it → receive → day
Just weeks before Chivayo's death, Intratrek received a government notice to proceed with the project and was given 24 months to complete it.
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Intratrek → receive → it
As the accusations flew, the businessman just smiled and sweet-talked his way through the maelstrom - even winning over President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was initially unimpressed by him when he first came to power.
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he → fly → power
In 2018, Mnangagwa cited Gwanda as a lesson in the dangers of doing business with "fly-by-night briefcase businessmen", adding ominously that "Chikurubi is not full".
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Chikurubi → cite → businessmen
The state-run Herald newspaper reported that the warning was directed at Chivayo.
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warning → run → Chivayo
Yet within a few years, that relationship transformed into a bromance.
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relationship → transform → bromance
In one of several photographs capturing the remarkable informality between them, Chivayo lounges, almost lying, on a sofa beside Mnangagwa, apparently entirely at ease in the president's company.
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Chivayo → capture → company
His access was not confined to Zanu-PF - he also posted photographs with opposition figures, including the late Morgan Tsvangirai and Nelson Chamisa.
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he → confine → Tsvangirai
But he became a conspicuous presence around Mnangagwa, speaking glowingly of the president and making no secret of his support for Zanu-PF.
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he → become → PF
He faced allegations over the procurement of materials for the 2023 elections, in which Mnangagwa was voted in for a second term.
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Mnangagwa → face → term
Investigations alleged that South African supplier Ren-Form grossly inflated prices and subsequently paid hundreds of millions of rand to a company linked to him.
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Form → allege → him
Chivayo denied wrongdoing, and Zimbabwe's anti-corruption commission later said it had found no evidence linking him to procurement fraud.
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it → deny → fraud
Ren-Form denied any wrongdoing.
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Form → deny → wrongdoing
In April, he offered the country's 360 legislators $10,000 each, prompting accusations that he wanted to influence an impending vote on a controversial constitutional amendment to extend what would have been Mnangagwa's final five-year term by two years to 2030.
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what → offer → 2030
He was forced to withdraw the offer following a backlash and denied it was intended to influence the vote.
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it → force → vote
…and 44 more, not listed.
The Aporia
