Chivayo owed luxury car dealers $5 million as questions mount over estate
_Late tenderpreneur’s estate faces a barrage of claims_
HARARE – Three major Harare car dealers are owed more than US$5 million by the late businessman Wicknell Chivayo, exposing the scale of the credit arrangements that underpinned his lavish vehicle giveaways, ZimLive has learnt.
Exquisite Cars, Enterprise Car Sales and Faramatsi Motors are together owed about US$5.1 million, according to sources familiar with the arrangements, with Faramatsi facing the largest outstanding bill at US$2.4 million.
The Zanu PF financier, who died with his wife Lucy in a helicopter crash near Marondera on September 30, built a public profile around giving away luxury vehicles and cash to individuals and institutions, particularly churches.
His publicly declared gifts exceeded US$50 million, although he claimed to have given away more than US$100 million.
A source familiar with his dealings with the car dealers said Chivayo operated under open-ended credit arrangements that allowed him to take vehicles and settle the bills later, typically within three months.
“Most of his income came from the government. So these payments to the car dealers followed cycles of disbursements by the treasury, and the car dealers were comfortable with their arrangement,” the source said.
“Go and see Victor” became one of Chivayo’s familiar refrains when he announced that someone was getting a high-end vehicle.
Victor Vikela, the boss of Exquisite Cars, is owed about US$1.4 million, while Enterprise Car Sales, owned by Madzibaba Tendai Chipanga, is owed US$1.3 million. Faramatsi Motors was left with an outstanding debt of US$2.4 million, sources said.
Vikela declined to discuss the details, saying he would not comment “out of respect for Chivayo’s legacy, and the relationship we had.”
He disputed the reported figures as greatly exaggerated, adding that whatever Chivayo owed his business “has been written off.”
Matsika, who also owns Doves Funeral Services, said: “We respect and protect and abide by our client confidentiality rules. If you buy a car from Faramatsi Motors, you will not hear anything relating to the transaction. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
Chipanga could not be reached.
The debts offer a rare glimpse into Chivayo’s financial arrangements as his family prepares to appoint an executor to administer his estate, which could involve untangling a complex web of property holdings, business interests and outstanding liabilities.
ZimLive understands that South African car dealers who released vehicles before receiving full payment are also circling over his estate, seeking to recover outstanding payments. Some vehicles remain stranded at the Beitbridge border post because duty had not been fully paid.
The extent of the liabilities raises questions about how much of Chivayo’s highly publicised wealth was backed by fully paid-for assets, and how much of his business empire depended on continued government payments.
Chivayo held government contracts worth nearly US$1 billion through his companies IMC Communications, Intratrek and TTM Global Medical Exports.
The future of those businesses is uncertain following his death. Chivayo was their central figure and had leveraged his political connections to secure lucrative government contracts, in most cases without competitive bidding.
Chivayo is believed to have completed the purchase of a property in England valued at US$12 million just days before his death. He also boasted of owning properties in Dubai, Eswatini, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
His private jet, a Gulfstream G550 that he valued at US$34 million, flew out of Zimbabwe on Sunday and landed in Basel, Switzerland. It remains unclear who authorised the aircraft’s movement or under what arrangements it was repositioned.
A central question for the estate’s administrators will be whether the properties and other high-value assets were fully paid for, and whether any remain subject to outstanding purchase agreements or other claims.
One of the most significant property questions concerns Chivayo’s mansion in Harare’s Gletwyn suburb, set on four adjoining stands measuring a combined 11.5 hectares.
Chivayo agreed to buy the property from former police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri in 2017 for US$2.555 million, according to a sale agreement seen by ZimLive.
The agreement required Chivayo to pay US$1 million upon signing, with the remaining US$1.555 million due within a year. It stipulated that failure to settle the balance within that period would render the agreement “null and void and of no effect.”
Transfer from Chihuri’s True Hope Trust to Chivayo’s WMC Family Trust was to take place only after payment of the full purchase price, transfer fees, stamp duty and obligations to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra).
The transaction subsequently ran into difficulties over the property’s valuation for tax purposes, according to a lawyer familiar with the transaction.
Zimra valued the property at US$7 million when calculating capital gains tax, which is levied at 20 percent of the applicable value and would amount to US$1.4 million on that valuation.
Chihuri balked at the tax liability, which he would have had to pay as the seller, given that the agreed purchase price was substantially below Zimra’s valuation, the lawyer said.
Chivayo reportedly offered to cover the tax, but the transfer was never completed, the lawyer said.
The mansion’s ownership and the status of the sale agreement could now become matters for the estate’s executor to resolve. One legal expert said Chihuri could seek to reclaim the property by treating Chivayo’s part-payment as rent, rather than a deposit towards the purchase price, as he prepares to engage the executor.
