Chivayo and Wife Lucy Muteke To Be Buried Side-By-Side At Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park
The late businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy “Lulu” Muteke are expected to be buried side-by-side at Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park in Harare.
Family spokesman Herbert Chivayo said the late husband and wife will lie in state at their Gletwin mansion on Wednesday night in Harare where mourners are gathered, as per Zimbabwean tradition.
The family spokesman Hebert Chivayo said the family expects thousands of mourners to bid farewell to Wicknell and Lulu, adding that several heads of state are expected to attend the burial at Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park. He did not name them.
Wicknell Chivayo, 43, and his wife Lucy Muteke, 35, died on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, when their helicopter crashed in Marondera, about 70 kilometres east of Harare.
According to police and government officials, the helicopter, a Bell 430, came down at around 5pm at Kudenga Farm, about 40 minutes after taking off from Gandami in Chikomba District, Mashonaland East.
The couple had been at their rural home in Gandami where they were constructing a new family mansion. They were travelling back to Harare with three other people, including two pilots and a security aide. There were no survivors. All five people on board died.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa described the deaths as a deep shock to the nation. The controversial Chivayo was the founder of Intratrek Zimbabwe and was known for for his high-profile philanthropy.
The joint burial at Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park is expected to take place on Thursday, 8 October 2026 and has been opened to members of the public.