HARARE – One of Wicknell Chivayo’s security aides has said the helicopter that crashed on Wednesday, killing the businessman and his wife, had five occupants, contradicting the police account that six people were on board.
Froster Chisi, who was travelling in a separate helicopter carrying security aides, said the two aircraft encountered “challenging weather conditions” while returning from Gandami in Chivhu, Chivayo’s rural home.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Chisi told journalists at the crash site: “The boss (Chivayo) said we should go to Gandami. We left Harare at 3PM, and took off from Chivhu at 4.20PM for the return flight. We were supposed to have a stopover in Marondera, before continuing on to Harare.
“On our way back, the weather became challenging and our pilot suggested that we reroute and go via Bromley instead. What I observed during the pilots’ communication was that the pilot flying the boss kept saying, ‘I’m in bad weather, I haven’t exited the cloud.’
“His last communication was that he was flying over Surrey. Our pilot then said he was 10 minutes from destination, and the pilot flying the boss appeared confused, asking, ‘Which destination?’ Our pilot responded that Marondera, but no reply came. All communication with the other helicopter was lost.”
Chisi said they landed in Marondera and waited for Chivayo’s helicopter, which did not arrive.
They then decided to fly to Harare and collect vehicles, believing Chivayo’s helicopter may have landed elsewhere because of the weather and that they would be able to find them by road once communication was re-established.
Chisi said they spent more than an hour trying to reach Chivayo, his wife and the crew by phone before receiving news that the helicopter had crashed and that there were no survivors.
“There was the boss, his wife, the wife’s aide and two pilots,” Chisi said.
Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy killed in helicopter crash on September 30, 2026
Police had said on Wednesday that six people were on board the aircraft.
The crash site, at Kudenga Farm, about 85km east of Harare, stretched for more than 50 metres across a field.
Forensic teams were called to the scene to recover human remains, which will undergo DNA testing to identify the victims.
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