CHIVAYO, THE FIRST FAMILY & THE MILLION-DOLLAR ELECTION SCANDAL
The stench of corruption surrounding Zimbabwe’s controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo just got harder to ignore. South African financial regulators are now circling, launching investigations into Ren-Form, a Johannesburg-based printing company accused of laundering money through dodgy election deals linked to Chivayo — a man whose rise to obscene wealth has always followed the shadow of political power.
At the heart of the scandal is Chivayo’s close relationship with Zimbabwe’s First Family. His access to power is not by chance — it is by design. His public bromance with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s sons, Collins and Emmerson Junior, has turned him into an untouchable figure within Zimbabwe’s corrupt ruling elite. He is not just a businessman. He is a gatekeeper. A runner. A front.
Last year, investigative reports by The Sentry and Open Secrets, published by South Africa’s Daily Maverick, exposed how Ren-Form partnered with Chivayo to supply election materials to Zimbabwe — at wildly inflated prices. According to the report, Ren-Form invoiced ZEC an outrageous R23 million for a server that usually costs R90,000. They also charged R68,700 per portable toilet — the same toilets you can pick up on the market for just R10,000.
But the story doesn’t end with overpriced servers and toilets. Zimbabwe’s NewsHawks later dropped another bombshell — audio recordings of Chivayo casually discussing how the looted millions from this deal would be shared among Zimbabwean officials. He refers to them using initials and code names, a clear sign that these are not small fish. These are big players — protected, powerful, and part of the system.
Ren-Form’s response? Their sales director, Jean-Pierre du Sart, told journalists: “Chivayo is our agent over there. There’s nothing wrong with that.” But there is everything wrong with that when the so-called “agent” is not just a businessman — but a politically connected tenderpreneur with known ties to the Mnangagwa dynasty.
Now, South African authorities are investigating Ren-Form for possible money laundering offences, while Zimbabwe’s Anti-Corruption Commission claims to have launched its own probe. Few Zimbabweans have faith in ZACC’s willingness or ability to go after someone so deeply embedded in the First Family’s inner circle.
Wicknell Chivayo has built his empire on proximity to power. He flaunts cars, watches, and wads of cash on social media, while ordinary Zimbabweans suffocate under poverty, unemployment, and collapsing services. Every dollar he splashes is a reminder of a rigged system where political loyalty is rewarded with state contracts, and elections are just another business opportunity for those close to the throne.
The million-dollar question now is — will the South African investigations finally break the wall of protection around Chivayo? Or will this be yet another scandal swept under Zimbabwe’s already overcrowded rug of corruption?
One thing is clear. As long as the Mnangagwa family keeps feeding and protecting characters like Wicknell Chivayo, Zimbabwe’s elections will remain for sale — and democracy will remain nothing but a smokescreen for looting.
