Zimbabwean Wicknell Chivayo appeared to have been close to Kenya’s president William Ruto, in a camaraderie that puzzled many Kenyans.
Chivayo left many Kenyans in shock from the ease with which he managed to get access to State House in multiple visits. Chivayo, who died on September 30 in a helicopter crash in Zimbabwe, was as controversial as his appearances at Kenya’s State House were.
According to a report that appeared in the Daily Nation on Tuesday, Chivayo was once sent to prison over fraud. He then went on to serve a three-year sentence at the Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare, Zimbabwe.
He had been convicted by the High Court in 2005 and sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering involving R837,000 (about Sh6.5 million), with two years conditionally suspended.
Wicknell Chivayo has also faced multiple investigations by South African and Zimbabwean authorities. In 2025, a report by the BBC noted that one of the inquiries against the late Chivayo was launched by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) in 2024.
This inquiry came after a claim that was launched by the South African investigative non-profit organization known as Open Secrets. According to this organization, Chivayo had received a windfall of millions of dollars as the facilitator of a tender to supply election materials to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in 2023.
Chivayo and Zimbabwean company known as Intratrek were also charged over allegations involving millions of US dollars in project funds. However, hey were acquitted in 2023 by a magistrate who ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges against them.
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In his message following Chivayo’s death, Ruto referred to him as his “dear friend”.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic passing of my friend, Wicknell Chivayo, together with his wife, Lucy Muteke, and the other lives lost in the helicopter crash in Zimbabwe. Their sudden departure is a painful loss to their families, friends and all who knew them,” he said.
“Wicknell was a dear friend whose warmth touched many people. I will remember him for his friendship, his energy and his deep conviction in the possibilities of our continent.”
