…why is he a friend of political rivals?
BLANTYRE, MALAWI – Following the official change of government in Malawi on October 4, 2025, a noticeable procession of business figures, encompassing both honest and reportedly crooked operators, has begun to court the new administration at Sanjika Palace.
Among the most prominent and controversial is 42-year-old Zimbabwean businessman, Wicknell Chivayo, a self-proclaimed billionaire who has rapidly moved to establish links with the new Malawian leader, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
A photograph circulating widely on social media captures Chivayo and the new President sharing a remarkably wide smile, a scene that mirrors an identical photo taken in July with the recently-ousted President Lazarus Chakwera at Kamuzu Palace.
The back-to-back high-level access and the leaders’ evident delight have fueled speculation among observers, who question whether Chivayo is merely a charismatic figure or if his visits are instrumental in securing major, politically-connected deals.
Chivayo, who frequently uses the moniker “Sir Wicknell,” has confirmed his presence in Malawi is part of a commercial mission, with the immediate objective focused on securing a potential contract for emergency fuel supply, a sector of critical national concern given Malawi’s persistent fuel shortages.
The businessman’s profile is defined by a flamboyant lifestyle, luxury vehicle displays, and significant, highly-publicized acts of charity, such as giving out cars and buses in Zimbabwe and making a massive donation of ten buses and US$1 million in cash to his church ahead of his birthday.
These acts of benevolence are often viewed by critics as a mechanism to buy political influence and social legitimacy. His business interests primarily revolve around companies like Intratrek Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, which has secured numerous major government tenders.
Chivayo has intentionally positioned himself as a pan-African business operator by cultivating proximity to several regional heads of state. His network includes recent meetings with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda in May 2024, and earlier in 2025, he was photographed at the State House in Nairobi with President William Ruto of Kenya and President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania.
He has also been observed riding in the official motorcade of Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa. In 2025 between July and October he has met with four African heads of state, Mutharika, Chakwera, the Mozambican leader Chapo, and the Tanzanian president, as part of his regional engagements, underscoring his ambition for continental reach in aligning himself with large energy and infrastructure projects.
Despite his high-level political access, Chivayo’s career is deeply steeped in controversy, particularly concerning government tenders and accountability. His company, Intratrek Zimbabwe, was awarded a US$172.8 million contract in 2015 to build the 100 MW Gwanda solar power plant in Zimbabwe.
Nearly a decade later, the project remains a barren and abandoned site, widely derided as a “white elephant.” The national power utility, Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), had initially pursued fraud charges against Chivayo for receiving an advance of over US$5.6 million without delivery, though the High Court later dismissed the criminal aspect, ruling the dispute was contractual.
Furthermore, Chivayo has been linked in a dossier to a sweeping US$3.2 billion corruption scandal in Zimbabwe.
He faced media scrutiny in early 2025 after two linked companies reportedly sought to raise their monthly cash withdrawal limits to US$20 million each, prompting calls for an investigation into the source of his massive wealth.
These highly visible dealings, coupled with gifts like over US$3 million in luxury vehicles to leaders of Zimbabwe’s ruling party, raise fundamental red flags regarding state-business relations, transparency, and the perceived impunity of politically-connected elite figures across Southern Africa.
Will Malawi be the next Chivayo play ground, only President Mutharika, can tell.
