The Late Chivayo’s Custom Made Rolls-Royce Phantom Arrives Two Weeks After Burial
By Agencies
Exactly two weeks after his high-profile burial following a fatal helicopter crash, the final bespoke luxury vehicle ordered by controversial Zimbabwean businessman “Sir” Wicknell Chivayo has officially arrived in the country.
The ultra-luxury custom Rolls-Royce Phantom, shipped to Harare following international transit delays, arrived at its destination to an empty driveway—standing as a silent, undriven monument to a man whose life was defined by flamboyant displays of wealth and extravagant automotive collections.
Chivayo, 43, died alongside his wife, Lucy Muteke, and four others when their helicopter crashed in the Marondera District. His sudden death sent shockwaves through political and business circles, culminating in a heavily publicized funeral procession dominated by a convoy of Maybachs, G-Wagons, and custom luxury sedans.
The newly delivered Rolls-Royce Phantom was tailored to Chivayo’s exact personal specifications, featuring custom interior finishes and bespoke bodywork commissioned months prior to his passing. Sources close to the estate confirm the vehicle had undergone final clearance procedures before clearing border customs into Harare.
For a businessman who routinely documented his multi-million-dollar vehicle acquisitions across social media, the arrival of his flagship machine without its owner has drawn widespread attention across the capital. It is a surreal sight for observers; this was meant to be the crown jewel of his personal fleet, ordered to mark another milestone, but instead it arrived after the dust on his grave has already settled.
Chivayo built a polarizing reputation through his high-stakes business ventures, government tender contracts—including the controversial Gwanda Solar Project—and his close political alignments with ruling party elites. In the months preceding his death, Chivayo had gained widespread notoriety for gifting dozens of top-of-the-range luxury vehicles to musicians, religious leaders, and political allies, boasting an endless appetite for high-end European motoring engineering.
The arrival of the multi-hundred-thousand-dollar sedan closes the final logistical chapter of Chivayo’s personal acquisitions. The custom Phantom now falls under the administration of his family estate and legal executors.
As the vehicle sits parked in Harare, it serves as a stark, tangible reminder of a life lived at maximum volume—a final symbol of opulence that arrived precisely on schedule for the estate, but forever too late for the man who commissioned it
