Sunday Mail Reporter
Mr Wicknell Chivayo lived as he gave — loudly, lavishly and without apology.
He arrived in sleek convoys and departed in clouds of dust, his name forever attached to the cars he gave away, the homes he helped families secure and the cheques he signed without ceremony.
He lived loudly, gave generously and wore his success the way others wear a favourite suit, boldly, and without apology.
Today, that remarkable life comes to its resting place.
Mr Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, will be buried at Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park (SGFMP) on the northern edge of Harare, following the completion of forensic and DNA identification procedures after the helicopter crash near Marondera on September 30 that also claimed three other lives.
The families have confirmed that the burial will be open to the public — a final, fitting gesture for a man who never shut the gates on anyone.
But if the couple lived larger than most, their resting place will be no less considered.
The two will be laid to rest in granite-clad graves, their interior walls and top coping finished in thick, polished grey granite.
“The burial place is called the Royal Estate at Sahwira Glen Forest. That is our premium area. So, Mukuru Wemazuva is at the peak of the mountain. That is what we call the Hilltop,” said Head of Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park, Ms Mable Chidhakwa..
“He is on the peak there, his grave is clad in granite, white grey granite. The area is padded with lawn. We will put flowers so that it remains nice and bright. That is our highest point where we put granite cladding inside.”
Wealthy families often choose granite-clad graves, full granite ledger slabs and private custom mausoleums as a definitive statement of legacy, prestige and permanent remembrance.
“While a standard lawn burial uses a modest vertical headstone, a granite-clad grave completely covers the burial plot with premium stone cladding or massive solid granite slabs. Affluent individuals favour this method for several distinct reasons,” said Ms Chidhakwa.
For a man whose life was defined by grand gestures, the quiet precision of that craftsmanship carries its own meaning. The cars fade. The headlines move on. What remains is stone, stillness and memory.
There is a deeper symmetry to the choice of Sahwira Glen Forest. It is where Mr Chivayo’s mother, Canisia Chivayo, is buried.
Today, her son and his wife return to be near her.
The family will be reunited in a place that has quietly held the stories of thousands of Zimbabwean families for more than two decades.
“Nyaradzo Life Assurance acquired the memorial park in May 2026, rebranded it Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park and expanded the estate with the adjoining Chikomo Chemhute Farm, bringing roughly 75 hectares under one vision,” said Ms Chidhakwa.
Across that land lie some 13 000 graves, among them those of Mr Walter Muparutsa, Mr Israel Magwenzi (founder and major shareholder of Kama Holdings Private Limited), Mr Chinx Dick Chingaira Makoni, Cde Amos Midzi, Mr David Robert Martin, Mr Ezekiel Guti Junior, Mr Joe Mugabe and Mr Edzai Kasinauyo.
“Nyaradzo’s ambition is to make it something more than a cemetery: a destination with a chapel, crematorium, reflection garden, digital memorial wall and spaces where families can mourn, gather and remember without hurry,” said Ms Chidhakwa.
Today, that vision meets one of Zimbabwe’s most closely watched farewells.
Mr Chivayo spent his life giving. In death, he and Lucy will be remembered in polished grey stone — permanent, seamless and impossible to overlook.
