MARONDERA, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, died when a private helicopter crashed in the country’s east on September 30, 2026, a family spokesperson told the state broadcaster.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reported that Herbert Chivayo, speaking for the family, confirmed the couple’s deaths following the crash in rural Marondera, east of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.
Okay News reports that Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi separately confirmed the crash and said six people had been aboard the aircraft.
Police placed the incident at about 5 p.m. local time (GMT+2) on Wednesday, according to a report by Agence France-Presse. Marondera is about 72 kilometres east of Harare.
Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said the helicopter had been carrying a prominent businessman, three other passengers and two crew members. He said the information available to the government indicated that nobody had survived.
“Current information indicates that there were no survivors in this crash,” Mangwana said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
The initial police and government updates did not identify the occupants by name. Confirmation that Chivayo and Muteke were among those killed came from the family spokesperson’s comments to ZBC.
Chivayo was a prominent figure in Zimbabwe’s business community and was known for his ties to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the governing Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, commonly known as ZANU-PF.
The reports reviewed did not establish what caused the helicopter to crash. Nyathi said in the initial police statement that work was under way to identify those on board.
