“Saved the Best for Last”: Wicknell Chivayo’s Final Facebook Post and Wilson Manase’s Story

Story By Staff Reporter

Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo died in a helicopter crash near Marondera, east of Harare, on 30 September 2026, together with his wife, Lucy Muteke, and others. Shortly before, he shared a Facebook post that people are now discussing widely. His lawyer, Wilson Manase, says it was a gift meant for him.

The post

The post was shared from Chivayo’s Facebook page, “Sir Wicknell,” and tagged at Chishawasha Hills in Harare. The caption began:

Appreciating relationships built over decades… saved the best for last…

The photos showed an olive-green Lexus SUV decorated with balloons in a showroom, with other vehicles nearby. It followed the pattern of his earlier gift announcements, which typically paired a car with a message of appreciation.

Manase’s account

In an interview, Manase said the post was meant for him. He did not see it at first because he is not on Instagram or Facebook. Chivayo called him and asked why he had not phoned to say thank you. Manase replied that he had been receiving many calls but had not checked why.

Early that morning, around 5:00 a.m., a lawyer at his firm called to congratulate him. She sent him a photo, and the situation became clear. Manase says Chivayo told him he had saved his life and sent him to collect the car from a man named Victor. He went, saw the car and took photographs with it.

More than a car

Manase described the car as beautiful but said cars are not his priority. What matters to him is a gift given genuinely, from the heart.

He says Chivayo later explained the phrase by telling him that he had saved him and done a lot with him, and that since 1998 Manase never left. In Manase’s telling, the words were about loyalty through a long and difficult journey.

When the words were read as a goodbye

After news of the crash broke, the caption took on a different meaning for many people. “Saved the best for last” had been written as a note of appreciation for long-standing relationships, but some social media users began sharing it as if it were a farewell message, as though Chivayo had sensed the end was near. Others linked it to his earlier gift posts and treated it as the final one in a long series.

Nothing in Manase’s account supports that reading. He describes the words as gratitude for a friendship that began in 1998 and for his loyalty through difficult times. The post followed the style of Chivayo’s earlier gift announcements, and nothing in it mentions death or goodbye. The cause of the crash has not been established, and there is no verified evidence that Chivayo foresaw it.

The way the phrase spread shows how quickly a message can change meaning once tragedy follows it. After sudden deaths, people often search a person’s last words for hidden signs, because a pattern feels easier to bear than chance. A caption written about thanks and loyalty came to be quoted as a goodbye.

A divisive public figure

Chivayo was one of Zimbabwe’s most visible and most debated businessmen. President Emmerson Mnangagwa described him as “consummately philanthropic” after his death. Others pointed to his wealth, political connections and allegations surrounding his business dealings, and some Zimbabweans publicly celebrated his death. Reaction to his passing has been sharply divided.

Key takeaways

• Wicknell Chivayo died in a helicopter crash on 30 September 2026. The cause is not yet known.
• His Facebook post said “Appreciating relationships built over decades… saved the best for last…”
• Wilson Manase says the post was for him and that their friendship dates to 1998.
• Manase says sincerity mattered more to him than the car.
• After the crash, some social media users read the caption as a farewell, though Manase describes it as a message of gratitude.