HARARE – Businessman Wicknell Chivayo marked his 45th birthday on Saturday with another staggering display of wealth, announcing a US$5.3 million giveaway while holidaying in Seychelles. The Intratrek Zimbabwe boss, who routinely avoids media interviews and refuses to discuss the origins of his fortune, has made millions from state contracts whose full scope has never been publicly disclosed. He has also paraded meetings with presidents of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Uganda, saying he is pursuing renewable energy investments across the region.
Saturday’s birthday spending is believed to be his costliest single-day outlay so far. In his latest round of giveaways, Chivayo pledged six top-of-the-range Toyota Land Cruisers to leaders of Zanu PF’s women’s league; US$500,000 to be shared equally across the league’s 10 provincial structures; 10 Toyota Hilux GD6s for provincial women’s league leaders; and a further six Hiluxes plus US$100,000 for the Zanu PF affiliate, Young Women 4 ED. Earlier this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa rejected suggestions that Chivayo was “fronting” for him in a scheme to buy influence and political support.
“Where would I get the money to give him? … You can’t bother me about someone who is philanthropic,” Mnangagwa told journalists.
