A traditional healer who lived near businessman Wicknell Chivayo has rejected claims that prophets or spiritual figures should have predicted his death, saying no one has the power to know when a person’s life will end.
Sekuru Banda, who was Chivayo’s neighbour in Gletwyn, Harare, spoke as the businessman, his wife Lucy Muteke and four others were being mourned after their helicopter crashed near Marondera last Wednesday.
The Bell 430 went down at Kudenga Farm, about 70 kilometres east of Harare, shortly after taking off from Chivayo’s rural homestead in Gandami Village, Chikomba. Police said the aircraft had six occupants and that there were no survivors. The group was travelling towards the capital when the helicopter came down at about 5pm, around 40 minutes into the flight.
The dead included the couple, two pilots and two other passengers. The pilots were identified as Captain Calvin Tafirei Soda and Captain Courage Mutavirwa. Soda was in command of the aircraft. Both pilots were buried separately over the weekend, with Soda laid to rest in Marondera and Mutavirwa buried in Chiredzi, Masvingo.
The wreckage was scattered across a field and was badly burnt after fuel spilled on impact. Aviation investigators recovered the aircraft’s black box as they began examining the final flight, the weather conditions, radio communications and the remains of the helicopter.
The cause of the crash has not been announced.
For Banda, the tragedy has also brought a rush of speculation about prophecy, witchcraft and the role of local spiritual leaders. He said those asking why prophets had not foreseen Chivayo’s death did not understand the spiritual world.
“This man, whom we are mourning here, was my neighbour. Taitambidzana munyu, taionana pano neapo nguva nenguva. We are mourning as neighbours and we have lost a good neighbour. We will remember him as a man who helped a lot of people. Death is God’s law and we may say why did prophets not see the death or he was using juju. Honestly there is nothing like that,” he said.
Banda said people who survived accidents did so because their time had not yet come, and urged mourners to avoid blaming others whenever lives were lost.
“God’s time is His time and nothing can change that. What kills a human being is God’s time and whoever survives in an accident, anenge asiiwa nekuti nguva yake inenge isati yakwana. We have different ways of going to God. One day we will all go, regardless of our backgrounds.”
He added: “Let’s not use a culture of finger pointing each time there is an incident which may result in the loss of life. Death is God’s final say, not what people say, munhu akaromba or kutengesa mazuva. No one has the power to tell when someone is dying. Let’s avoid saying things we have not seen. All of us, we don’t know when we will die.”
The helicopter was not owned by Chivayo. It had been hired from businessman Themba Nkatazo, the founder and chief executive of agricultural company Valley Seeds and the owner of Sky Helicopters, a private aviation charter company.
Sky Helicopters provides helicopter hire, rental and on-demand charter services for corporate executives, public figures, politicians and wealthy clients. Chivayo was a well-known customer and regularly displayed his enthusiasm for private aviation, luxury cars and aircraft.
At the time of his death, Chivayo had been building a large rural home at Gandami Village in the Wiltshire farming area of Chivhu. He had also been constructing a helipad at the property, which he called “mini Borrowdale Brooke”. In videos from the site, he spoke about plans to bring three helicopters to the homestead, including what he described as a massive aircraft.
Although the helicopter involved in the crash was hired, Chivayo had said he was arranging to take delivery of aircraft of his own. He also owned a Gulfstream G550 private jet valued at about US$34 million and was known for making his wealth and access to private aviation part of his public image.
The crash has focused attention on the private charter industry and on the circumstances of the aircraft’s final journey. Accounts from the scene said the pilots faced poor weather and reduced visibility before the helicopter went down. Investigators are examining the recovered flight recorder and the radio traffic to establish what happened in the final minutes.
Chivayo, who was 43, had built a large public profile through government-linked business projects and highly publicised acts of generosity. He was the managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe, which was awarded a US$172 million solar project in Gwanda. He also gave away cars, money and other gifts to musicians, religious figures and public personalities, often sharing the donations on social media.
His public life attracted both admiration and criticism. Supporters remembered him as a businessman who helped families, artists and churches. Others questioned how he accumulated his wealth and pointed to the government contracts and political relationships that helped make him one of Zimbabwe’s most recognisable businessmen. He denied wrongdoing and continued to present himself as a philanthropist committed to helping ordinary people.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he had met Chivayo after a Cabinet meeting only a day before the crash. The President described his death as sudden and said the Chivayo family had touched many lives through charity. Kenya’s President William Ruto, who had appeared publicly with Chivayo, also sent condolences and described him as a friend.
At the family home in Gletwyn, mourners have included musicians, religious leaders, government officials and business associates. Chimurenga music icon Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo returned from the United States after being hired by Chivayo to perform at two events in a deal worth US$1 million. One of the planned appearances was at Jah Prayzah’s wedding in Harare, which was postponed after the crash. Mapfumo also had been due to perform at Chivayo’s birthday celebrations next month.
Mapfumo said Chivayo had been generous and urged Zimbabweans not to divide themselves over the businessman’s reputation.
“We have lost a person who was helping a number of people. Some may have their own negative views about him but, to me and many others he assisted, he was a good person. Let us not offend those who benefited from Wicknell’s loving hand, let us be united. As for his death, we will all die. Ndiyani achagara panyika nekusingaperi? Hapana.”
He said he remained ready to perform if a new wedding date was agreed.
“Although I no longer have the energy I used to have, I love to perform before my own people,” Mapfumo said.
One of Chivayo’s senior advisers, Madzibaba Moses Gwasarira, said he had been expected to travel with the businessman to the rural property but had instead been assigned to identify families in need in Murehwa.
“I was one of his advisors and we were identifying families in need. On the day in question, we were in Murehwa on his assignment. We have lost a man whose shoes were too big to fit. At first I could not speak, I was confused until I realised that people die in different ways, but no one knows the day of death,” he said.
Gwasarira said Chivayo had also brought together senior leaders within the Johanne Masowe movement. Sheikh Ishmael Duwa, president of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Zimbabwe, said the country had lost a man who shared his wealth.
“We have many people with wealth but they do not see the need to assist others,” Duwa said.
The couple are due to be buried at Glen Forest on Thursday, eight days after the crash. Their funeral follows the burials of the two pilots and the mourning of the other passengers who died in the aircraft.
As relatives and friends prepare for the final farewell, Banda has asked people to leave behind claims about hidden powers and predicted deaths. His message is that the tragedy should be met with mourning rather than finger-pointing, while investigators continue working to establish why the helicopter fell from the sky.