Harare dealers Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu, who are scandal-ridden tycoon Wicknell Chivayo’s estranged business partners, say their colleague went “crazy” last year when he started receiving money from the corrupt US$40 million Zimbabwe Electoral Commission elections tender, going on a car-buying spree and making donations never seen before in Zimbabwe.
Chivayo purchased two Maybachs (a German luxury car brand that is a division of Mercedes-Benz AG) in a week when the money arrived shortly after the elections in August of last year. He paid R3.5 million for one in Johannesburg, South Africa, and US$400 000 for the other in Harare, which he described as “little change.”
This means he now owns three Maybachs, something unusual in Zimbabwe and elsewhere, as part of a big fleet of luxury cars.
Chivayo lives a champagne lifestyle in a sea of poverty. Since then, he has spent US$3 million on cars and cash donations, primarily to Zanu PF supporters and sympathisers.
While some car owners enjoy driving vehicles funded with corrupt money without guilt, others regret their decision.
Chivayo says he was celebrating President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s disputed victory, which he noted guaranteed him “good life” for another five years.
In a revelation that has shocked the nation, Chivayo says Mnangagwa is firmly under his control and can get anything he wants from him.
The tenderpreneur wants tenders from Mnangagwa and the government, which are his business models.
#CorruptZECMoneyFundsChivayoCars#TycoonBuysTwoMaybachsInAweek
— TheNewsHawks (@NewsHawksLive) June 13, 2024
Harare dealers Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu, who are scandal-ridden tycoon Wicknell Chivhayo's estranged business partners, say their colleague went "crazy" from last year when he started receiving money from the… pic.twitter.com/Zvj3V1OkFX
In a letter dated April 24, 2024, complaining to South African supplier Ren-Form executive Angus Carlaw about Chivayo’s refusal to pay them and how he had fraudulently changed the contract to mainly eat alone, Chimombe and Mpofu said:
“This money has driven him crazy.”
After buying two cars in one week, Chivayo wrote on social media on September 18, 2023:
“Last week on Tuesday, after purchasing my SA pull car, the black Maybach GLS600, I drove back to Harare on Thursday with some change left, and as a sign of loyalty to the brand, I decided to buy yet another Maybach S580.”
“@exquisitecars: I thoroughly reviewed the documents and sought advice from my lawyer, Adv. Lews Uriri, who confirmed that there was no legal restriction preventing a citizen from owning three Maybach vehicles. Given the car’s reasonable price of just $400,000, I had no choice but to purchase it.
“Please pardon me, but the political party and presidential candidate I voted for in the recent elections won resoundingly, giving me a reason to celebrate fearlessly and indulge myself. This means 5 more years of GOOD LIFE.”
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