No one can prevent speaking concerning the self-styled knight freely giving vehicles via NewsFlicks

A flashy wealthy person in Zimbabwe has a country entranced – some beguiled, others alarmed – via his addiction of freely giving vehicles at the side of wads of money to these he deems patriotic – even presenting them to these he hasn’t ever met.

Mercedes-Benzes, Toyota SUVs, Vary Rovers are Wicknell Chivayo’s automobiles of selection for the recipients, who vary from tune stars, down-at-heel gospel singers, footballers, church leaders and the ones unswerving to the ruling Zanu-PF birthday celebration.

The arguable 44-year-old is himself a fan of a white Royals Royce and has a fleet of personalized luxurious vehicles, a few of which he has additionally began freely giving as he will get in more recent fashions.

For years “Sir Wicknell”, as he calls himself, has cherished to boast about his riches by the use of Instagram – main points the tabloids lap up – however whilst he’s open about how he spends his cash, he’s much less so about how he makes it as he faces scrutiny over the supply of his wealth in a rustic the place existence is a day-to-day fight for the general public.

Within the closing yr or so his social media account has additionally been awash with posts about his donations.

They observe a identical development: a photograph of a gleaming automotive with balloons tied to it – every now and then with a large bow on its bonnet – is accompanied with a message of congratulations to anyone with directions about the place they must acquire it, normally from one among more than a few luxurious automotive dealerships he makes use of within the capital, Harare.

“Please GO AND SEE VICTOR at EXQUISITE MOTORS, your emblem new 2025 Vary Rover Autobiography is FULLY PAID FOR and able for assortment,” he informed best musician Jah Prayzah closing month, including that $150,000 (£111,000) in money was once additionally looking forward to him there.

“That is only a small token of my gratitude in your IMMENSE contribution to Zimbabwean tune and your patriotism in uniting 1000’s of other folks via tune, preaching PEACE, preaching LOVE and preaching UNITY in each music.”

The amount of his “public gifting” has transform nearly frenzied – he even reposts funny memes about it. On social media, Zanu-PF accounts were lavishing him in reward, commending his philanthropy.

In personal Sir Wicknell – as we all know him – has additionally dished out homes and find out about scholarships to fans of his apostolic church, the Zion Christian Church, identified for his or her white clothes and worshipping outside.

The softly spoken, heavy-set businessman has come to symbolise Zimbabwe’s rising “flex tradition” – the will to flash one’s wealth in particular person and on-line.

“$hopping and spending cash are just a few of my spare time activities,” he wrote in 2013, when he first began on Instagram, subsequent to a resort trolley stuffed with his purchases.

This was once adopted now not lengthy after via the quip: “Rattling being wealthy is a headache from time to time” and a photograph of his huge shoe assortment as he attempted to make a decision whether or not to put on a couple of Louis Vuittons or Salvatore Ferragamos.

And so it has persisted, with vacations to Dubai, New York, Paris, London and work journeys to Johannesburg, Shanghai and New Delhi – and maximum lately posts about his new personal jet.

He additionally likes to show his proximity to energy – posting pictures of himself with politicians, from Zimbabwe’s past due President Robert Mugabe and his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa to, extra lately, different African leaders akin to Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan and Kenya’s William Ruto.

“He’s very hands-on along with his companies dealings, very a lot at the flooring and protecting tabs on how each cent is spent,” a businessman, who has up to now handled Mr Chivayo and requested to stay nameless, informed the BBC.

“It is transparent that he’s politically secure,” he mentioned.

In Cry Havoc, the past due British mercenary and coup plotter Simon Mann‘s 2011 memoir of his time incarcerated in Zimbabwe’s Chikurubi Most Jail, the previous British military officer mentioned his “well-educated” fellow inmate Wicknell warned him by no means to criticise Zanu-PF.

The pair had been in the similar mobile block – Mann serving 4 years for his position in a failed coup strive in Equatorial Guinea in 2004 and Chivayo a few years for fraud.

“In Africa the unsolicited reward is hugely tough,” Mann quoted him as pronouncing – a apparently prophetic remark.

Between them they paid in cigarettes for the products and services of a prisoner, serving 94 years for armed theft, to do their laundry. Mann mentioned Chivayo insisted on relating to him as their “butler”.

The 2 remained pals with Sir Wicknell posting a smiling picture of them in combination in 2013 – a yr that turns out to were a turning level for him.

It was once when, in addition to taking to Instagram, his corporate Intratrek Zimbabwe and a Chinese language company gained a young to construct a solar energy plant value $172.8m.

However the venture later changed into embroiled in fraud allegations – court docket data a number of years later state that Intratrek were paid an advance to start paintings at the 100MW plant in Gwanda however didn’t ship as anticipated to the state-owned Zimbabwe Energy Corporate (ZPC).

He in flip sued ZPC for cancelling its touch over the dispute. He gained that case and was once later acquitted of the entire felony fees.

Sir Wicknell is media shy, has spoken of his dislike of newshounds and with politeness declined my request for an interview.

However on a unprecedented day out on a breakfast radio display closing yr, he was once requested at once how he made his cash.

In bashful tones, he mentioned his primary trade was once executive tenders secured with overseas companions within the spaces of renewable power, engineering procurement, development and gear tasks. He mentioned he additionally had companies in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.

Overdue closing yr, his corporate IMC Communications was once authorized because the spouse for Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web provider supplier.

On Instagram, he has been a lot extra brash about his “Midas contact” – pronouncing he’s a “hustler” who works demanding. He additionally attributes his luck as a “self-made millionaire” to his humble background rising up Harare’s satellite tv for pc township of Chitungwiza, the place his circle of relatives struggled after his father died when he was once elderly 10.

He has a tendency to repost “throw-back” pictures to his past due teenagers when via a circle of relatives good friend he were given a task as a wages clerk at a bus corporate. “I keep in mind I used to be the one one my age with a mobile phone in Chitungwiza,” he has mentioned about his hard-working ethic.

An avowed Zanu-PF supporter he has up to now attributed his luck to the birthday celebration’s empowerment coverage, which was once introduced in 2013 and compelled all corporations to cede financial keep an eye on to black Zimbabweans.

Some see him as a a hit instance of this indigenisation coverage, growing a brand new elegance of black businessmen, however others consider a few of his wealth is a results of corruption and murky relationships with the ones in energy – which he vehemently denies.

Puzzled in February about Sir Wicknell’s predilection for freely giving vehicles, President Mnangagwa disregarded an accusation that the businessman was once performing as his frontman. “The place would I am getting the cash to provide him?… You’ll’t trouble me about anyone who’s philanthropic,” he informed newshounds.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Fee (ZACC) did release an inquiry closing yr after South African investigative non-profit organisation Open Secrets and techniques alleged Chivayo had won a providence of tens of millions of greenbacks because the facilitator of a young to provide election fabrics to the Zimbabwe Electoral Fee (Zec) in 2023.

The scandal ballooned when a leaked audio message purportedly of Mr Chivayo speaking concerning the deal additionally gave the impression to implicate two different businessmen via consoling them for failing to get promised kickbacks, suggesting many extra offers had been within the pipeline as “we’ve got them in vice-like grip”.

The fallout was once impressive. Zec denied any dealings with Mr Chivayo or the opposite males, all of whom denied the allegations – and a yr on ZACC has now not charged somebody.

Mr Chivayo mentioned the audio will have to were a deep pretend, generated via subtle generation. He additionally apologised to the president for any impact the audio could have created that the primary circle of relatives was once corrupt.

However now not lengthy afterwards, the 2 businessmen discussed within the audio had been arrested and charged with misappropriating round $7m in a separate case. They deny the accusations, related to a presidential goat scheme gentle, and feature spent nearly a yr in prison looking ahead to the trial to start.

This week there was extra hoo-ha a few meant leak over a record from March about an alleged $500m contract with Mr Chivayo’s identify indexed as a director of an organization to provide most cancers remedy apparatus to the Zimbabwe executive for 4 years.

The outrage is over the truth that whether it is true, it didn’t undergo a public tendering procedure. The federal government and Mr Chivayo have disregarded the allegations, declaring that the so-called contract touted as proof is unsigned.

“For a complete staff of opposition outfits to staff up and make noise about an unsigned FAKE record is an embarrassing desperation for political relevance,” Mr Chivayo mentioned.

The daddy of 2, now not lengthy remarried at an elaborate marriage ceremony rite with greater than 15,000 visitors, has ceaselessly mentioned he isn’t excited by turning into a political candidate.

For him it’s all concerning the cash – and he says he’s made up our minds to look off his “haters”. Posing via his jet lately, he wore a tracksuit with a large “B” emblazoned on his tracksuit, pronouncing: “Keep in mind the ‘B’ is the inevitable billionaire standing coming my manner in opposition to all odds.”

However his shut ties with energy, that have allowed him to transform wealthy, imply he’ll at all times fly on the subject of controversy.