Chivayo had not fully paid Chihuri for Gletwyn mansion
Story By Staff Reporter
Flamboyant tycoon Wicknell Chivayo never fully paid former police commissioner Augustine Chihuri for his Hollywood-style mansion, The NewsHawks can exclusively reveal.
Chivayo died in a helicopter crash near Marondera last Wednesday. His wife Lucy Muteke, her personal assistant and two pilots also died.
The mansion sits in Gletwyn, an upmarket suburb bordering Chishawasha Hills in Harare’s affluent north-east.
Only US$1.4 million paid
Chivayo paid Chihuri just US$1.4 million in May 2024. The property was then valued at US$2.5 million.
A well-informed source who took part in the transaction said:
“Chivayo had not fully paid for the property when he died. The house was valued at US$2.5 million, but he paid only US$1.4 million. He was to settle the balance through ‘services’. Nobody can easily put a monetary value on those services, especially now that the buyer is dead. Chihuri must now decide what happens next, because he never received full payment.”
“Political services” were meant to cover the balance
Sources said Chivayo was to clear the outstanding US$1.1 million through “political services” for Chihuri.
The source explained why the deal was flawed:
“The deal was not fully cash-based. It had problems at two levels from the start.
First, Chivayo did not pay in full. Nobody wrote down the ‘services’ meant to cover the US$1.1 million balance. That makes them hard to value. How do you put a monetary value on ‘political services’ when one party has died?
Second, the two sides disagreed on the property’s value. Chihuri sold the house for US$2.5 million, but Zimbabwe valued it at US$7 million. That is a gap of US$4.5 million. The parties never really agreed.
This affects the deal and the mansion’s fate, since the supposed new owner is dead. In the end, Chihuri still holds the keys.”
What Zimbabwean law requires
Zimbabwean law treats a house sale as complete only after a new Title Deed is registered at the Deeds Registry Office. The buyer must then receive physical handover.
Under the Deeds Registries Act, signing an Agreement of Sale and moving in does not make someone the lawful owner. Full ownership requires payment of the full price, depending on the agreed terms, plus a conveyancing process.
The conveyancer searches the Deeds Registry to confirm the title is valid and free of outstanding mortgages. The search must also confirm compliance with regulations such as Statutory Instrument 76 (SI 76).
The buyer also needs a rates clearance certificate. They must pay Zimra’s capital gains tax, transfer fees and stamp duty. The transfer must then be lodged and registered before occupancy.
Background: the 2017 coup and asset seizures
The political services involved easing tensions between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Chihuri. Those tensions intensified before, during and after the November 2017 coup that brought Mnangagwa to power.
Chihuri supported Mugabe and opposed the coup. He tried to use the police to foil it but failed. After the takeover, he escaped to Malawi as Mugabe’s allies scattered.
The state seized the mansion in 2020 while investigating Chihuri’s wealth.
Mnangagwa’s government then began legal action to confiscate an estimated US$32 million in assets and several properties linked to Chihuri. It accuses him of building a criminal syndicate and siphoning public funds during his 25 years leading the police.
Reporting based on original coverage by NewsHawks.
