Chivayo’s luxury car rejected by lawyer may have been fraudulently imported

A US$250,000 car that the late socialite Wicknell Chivayo announced as a gift to lawyer Lewis Uriri, and which Uriri rejected, may have been fraudulently imported in Uriri’s name without his knowledge.

Documents seen by ZimLive show the vehicle was bought from Johannesburg dealer Verve Auto Sports for R2,882,782 and cleared by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) in Uriri’s name.

ZIMRA collected US$74,460.57 in import duty. The import documentation included an uncertified copy of Uriri’s old passport.

The car was delivered to Exquisite Motors in Harare before Chivayo announced on social media on 21 September that he was gifting it to Uriri in recognition of legal services provided over the years.

Uriri rejected the car and a US$50,000 cash gift described as being “for fuel”. He told Chivayo the announcement “came as a complete surprise, without prior notice or discussion”.

Uriri, who is part of a legal team representing activists challenging constitutional amendments that extended President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term, said it was “necessary to decline benefits that could reasonably create a perception of personal financial obligation extending beyond a concluded and fully remunerated professional engagement”.

According to the documents, Chivayo may have retained a copy of Uriri’s old passport from earlier dealings when Uriri travelled outside Zimbabwe for legal work. The passport had been cancelled in 2024 after running out of pages.

Uriri has since obtained a new passport, a copy of which was seen by ZimLive. A cancelled passport is no longer valid identification for establishing identity in a transaction of this nature.

As part of the customs process, the importer’s identity must be established. Legal experts say the documents raise questions about whether the import was falsely presented as having been undertaken by Uriri.

“You have a document that says Advocate Uriri imported a vehicle into the country. That document tells a lie about its own contents. The transfer to settle customs duty that is presented in Uriri’s name is false and fraudulent,” said Advocate Thabani Mpofu.

“Wicknell ought to have imported the vehicle in his name and thereafter lawfully donated it to Uriri. Upon acceptance of the donation, Uriri would then have taken title.”

Mpofu said that by presenting the transaction as Uriri’s, Chivayo and the ZIMRA officials who approved the clearance may have committed “fraud against the due administration of justice”.

“The vehicle was imported fraudulently, is the subject of the commission of criminal misconduct and must therefore be forfeited to the state,” he argued.

After Uriri declined the gift, Chivayo offered the same vehicle to another lawyer, Advocate Silvester Hashiti, with an additional US$500,000 in cash.

Chivayo died on 30 September, before Hashiti could collect the vehicle. Exquisite Motors has reportedly referred Hashiti to the executor of Chivayo’s estate.

Exquisite Motors owner Victor Vikela said his company had merely stored the vehicle at Chivayo’s request.

“We had nothing whatsoever to do with its acquisition and importation,” he said. He added that the vehicle was no longer at the showroom but declined to say where it had been moved.

ZIMRA spokesman Gladman Njani declined to comment on the specific transaction, citing statutory confidentiality obligations.

Uriri declined to discuss the matter further, saying: “You guys must just let Wicknell rest in peace.”

More: ZimLive