Chivayo, wife to be buried in coffins

By Lovemore Lubinda

**HARARE-(MaraviPost)-**The late Controversial Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy Muteke will be buried in coffins on Thursday, October 8, 2026 at Glen Forest Cemetery in Harare, in a departure from the burial rites of their Johane Masowe YeChishanu church.

The decision was confirmed by church leader Madzibaba Lawrence Katsiru and family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo, who said it was necessitated by the condition of the bodies after last week’s helicopter crash.

Chivayo, 46, and Muteke, 35, were among five people killed on Wednesday, 30 September, when a private Bell 430 helicopter crashed at Kudenga Farm in Marondera, about 70km east of Harare. The others were pilot Calvin Tafirei Soda, co-pilot Courage Mutavirwa, and Muteke’s aide Saneliswe Magagula.

Police said the aircraft went down at around 5pm, about 40 minutes after taking off from Gandami in Chikomba, where the couple were building a rural mansion.

The crew’s last transmission indicated they were struggling to exit thick cloud. On impact, the helicopter caught fire.

Why coffins

Members of the Johane Masowe YeChishanu faith, also known as Vapostori, traditionally do not use modern coffins.

The dead are often wrapped in white cloth and buried simply, with mourners wearing signature white garments – nguvo chena – during the wake and burial.

The church’s staff – tsvimbo – belonging to the deceased is also handed to an heir in some cases.

According to Madzibaba Katsiru, the church and family agreed to use coffins in this case because the remains were severely burnt and incomplete.

“The bodies were burnt until the fire died on its own, so you can imagine what the status is like. They were beyond recognition,” Herbert Chivayo told ZBC.

Forensic teams had to conduct DNA testing to identify and separate the remains before releasing them to families.

The family has confirmed there will be no body viewing, and that the couple will be buried without their heads, which were not recovered.

“I have seen on social media people saying that the heads were found, but that’s not true. No head was found,” Herbert said, dismissing viral claims that four skulls were found at the scene. “There were some remains which forensic officials suspected to be head remains, but they found out that they were not.”

He said the last personal items recovered were Chivayo’s wristwatch and Muteke’s watch.

A public burial

Chivayo, known to his congregants as Madzibaba Wicknell and his wife as Madzimai Lucy, was founder of Intratrek Zimbabwe and was known for the long-delayed 100-megawatt Gwanda solar project, as well as high-profile philanthropy. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who described him as a personal friend, has accorded him provincial hero status.

The couple will be buried side-by-side, not in a single grave, at Glen Forest on Thursday, 8 October at 2pm. The family says the burial is open to the public.

Pilots Soda and Mutavirwa were buried on Sunday, while Magagula is due to be buried in Lupane.

Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing.

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