By Victor Fanuel
HARARE — Controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo’s final social media post has taken on an eerie significance after he was killed in a helicopter crash just hours after publishing it.
Chivayo opened Wednesday’s message with the words “APPRECIATING RELATIONSHIPS BUILT OVER DECADES…SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST…⚖️🙏🏽❤️,” prompting speculation over whether the wording was simply a farewell to two longtime lawyers or something more.
He was later killed alongside his wife, Lucy Muteke, and four others when their helicopter crashed in rural Marondera at about 5pm on September 30.
Police confirmed there were no survivors, while Chivayo’s family confirmed that he and Muteke were among those killed.
Hours before the tragedy, Chivayo had devoted his lengthy post to Wilson Tatenda Manase and Advocate Sylvester Hashiti, describing them as people who had remained with him from his early days in business.
“I have known him literally since 1998, when I was still renting ONE ROOM in Hillside and trying to find my feet in life,” he wrote of Manase.
Chivayo described the senior lawyer as a “FATHER FIGURE, MENTOR, BROTHER, ADVISER and trusted confidant”, before announcing a string of lavish gifts.
Manase was promised a 2026 Lexus GX 550 valued at US$220,000, together with US$250,000 in cash for fuel and personal upkeep.
Hashiti was also promised a brand-new 2026 Range Rover Sport Autobiography and US$250,000 in cash, with Chivayo adding another US$250,000 after praising the lawyer’s public defence of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
His post ended with congratulations, blessings and thanks to the two lawyers for standing by him through decades of changing fortunes.
“These two men are amazing and have supported me whole heartedly for decades from back in the days of poverty to where life has brought us today,” Chivayo wrote.
Then came the line that has gained a new significance following his death “APPRECIATING RELATIONSHIPS BUILT OVER DECADES…SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST…”
There is no evidence that Chivayo knew the helicopter carrying him would crash, making any suggestion of a premonition impossible to establish from the post alone.
Yet the timing of the message — published only hours before the fatal flight — has left social media users dissecting his choice of words, particularly the phrase “SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST.”
The crash occurred in the Marondera Rural area, east of Harare, at around 5pm. Police said the aircraft had six occupants, while government officials confirmed that nobody survived.
Chivayo, 43, had become one of Zimbabwe’s most recognisable businessmen, frequently displaying his wealth online and making high-profile donations to sports personalities, musicians, churches and other public figures.
His business dealings and political connections had also attracted scrutiny, particularly around government contracts and his close association with senior Zanu PF figures.
His final post, however, was not about business contracts or politics.
It was a public thank-you to people he said had remained beside him for nearly three decades — a message that, after his sudden death, has become an unintended final chapter in the life of one of Zimbabwe’s most flamboyant businessmen.
