Before their deaths made headlines years apart, Wicknell Chivayo and Ginimbi Kadungure shared a friendship, a controversial 2018 court case and a life of extraordinary wealth and public attention.
Before Wicknell Chivayo became known for his flashy lifestyle and photographs with African presidents, his name was already appearing alongside another controversial Zimbabwean businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure.
In 2018, Chivayo and Ginimbi appeared in the same fraud case in Zimbabwe. The case involved allegations surrounding a mining-equipment deal, with both men disputing the accusations against them.
At the time, Ginimbi described Chivayo as a friend he mainly knew through partying and said they had not previously done business together.
That courtroom appearance would become one of the lesser-known links between two men whose lives later became closely associated with wealth, luxury and controversy.
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Ginimbi and Chivayo were not simply two wealthy Zimbabweans who happened to know each other.
Their names were tied together publicly in the 2018 fraud proceedings, while their friendship was also visible away from the courtroom.
Ginimbi was already a major social-media personality, famous for expensive cars, lavish parties and a lifestyle that attracted enormous attention in Zimbabwe. Chivayo was building a similarly flamboyant public image of his own.
But their paths would eventually separate in a much darker way.
On November 8, 2020, Ginimbi died in a fiery car crash in Harare.
He was 36.
His Rolls-Royce crashed along Borrowdale Road and caught fire. Three other people in the vehicle also died.
The news shocked Zimbabwe, where Ginimbi had become one of the country’s most recognisable wealthy socialites.
Chivayo later publicly defended his late friend against speculation surrounding Ginimbi’s wealth and lifestyle.
While Ginimbi’s story ended in 2020, Chivayo’s public profile continued to grow.
His business dealings, extravagant spending and access to political figures increasingly placed him in the spotlight. He was photographed and seen with several African leaders, including Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa and Kenya’s William Ruto.
Ruto later described Chivayo as a “dear friend” following his death.
That relationship was particularly visible in Kenya, where Chivayo had also spoken publicly about plans for a major investment in the country.
Then, almost six years after Ginimbi’s death, Chivayo died in another crash.
On September 30, 2026, the Zimbabwean businessman was killed when a helicopter crashed in Zimbabwe. There were no survivors.
Ginimbi died in a road crash at 36.
Chivayo died in a helicopter crash years later.
There is no evidence that the two deaths were connected. But their shared history — from friendship and a 2018 court case to two very different fatal crashes — has brought the connection between the two men back into the spotlight.
