“Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo’s Eswatini diplomatic status stands despite previous criminal allegations in the absence of a court document disqualifying him”, says King’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane.
BY ZWELI MARTIN DLAMINI
Swaziland News,22nd June 2026
MBABANE: King Mswati’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane says, the diplomatic status of Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chicago who was personally granted a diplomatic passport by the King stands despite the widely reported previous criminal allegations against him.
A brief research conducted by this publication about Chivayo suggests that, he is the founder and Managing Director of Intratrek Zimbabwe and known for his involvement in Government tenders with close links to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).
The Zimbabwean businessman had a series of legal proceedings relating to fraud and money-laundering allegations, Intratrek Zimbabwe was awarded a contract in 2015 to construct a 100-megawatt solar power plant in Gwanda, for which it received an advance payment of US$5 million (over R80million) from the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) without carrying out substantive work on the project.
But before that, Chivayo was convicted of theft and illegal foreign currency exchange (money laundering) in 2004, he was sentenced to three (3) years in prison, which he served at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison
An independent investigation conducted by this publication further uncovered that, Chivayo faced separate multiple rounds of criminal prosecution over the advance payment but, due to his subsequent close alleged links to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, he was ultimately acquitted in 2024.
But in 2024, leaked audio recordings linked him to a US$100 million (over R1.6billion) contract for the supply of election materials to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and subsequently, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) investigated and announced in December 2025 that it had found no evidence directly linking Chivayo to the transaction.
Responding to this Swaziland News on Sunday evening, the King’s Spokesperson said, even though he “does not have the official details, he believes the Ministry responsible concluded that, the Zimbabwean businessman meets the requirements and therefore, in the absence of a court document disqualifying the businessman, his diplomatic status stands.
The King’s Spokesperson was asked by this publication to clarify if the King conducted a background check before granting the diplomatic passport to the Zimbabwean businessman.
“We do not have official details in the alleged granting of the passport in question to Mr Chivayo because the actual issuance of passports is done at a ministerial level. However, we want to believe that if indeed he was issued the diplomatic passport, he met the requirements of its category. As soon as he dully meets the requirements of being charged for the alleged crimes, the law enforcement agents will take over. Until then, his current status stands,” said the King’s Spokesperson.
https://swazilandnews.co.za/articles/36127