Machakaire confirms names of five killed in Marondera helicopter crash

The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, Tino Machakaire, has revealed the identities of the five people who died when a helicopter crashed at Kudenga Farm, near Marondera in Mashonaland East Province, on Wednesday evening.

In a condolence message posted on X, Machakaire released details that had not previously been made public.

He said the victims were businessman Wicknell Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteki, her aide Senelisiwe Magagula, and the two pilots, Captain Kelvin T. Soda and Captain Courage Mutavirwa. The group was aboard a Bell 430 helicopter on a flight from Chikomba to Harare.

“I write this with a deeply broken heart following the tragic loss of five precious lives aboard the Bell 430 helicopter flight from Chikomba to Harare,” Machakaire wrote.

“It is difficult to find words for a tragedy of this magnitude. They left their loved ones never knowing that it would be their final journey. In a single moment, families lost people they loved, voices they knew and lives they still expected to share tomorrow.

“Life can be painfully fragile and unpredictable. Today five families are carrying a pain that words cannot adequately describe.”

He extended his condolences to the families of all the deceased.

“May God hold every grieving family close and give them strength through these darkest hours,” he said.

“Gone too soon. May their souls rest in eternal peace, and may their memories forever live in the hearts of those who loved them.”