MALAIKA MAHLATSI | Are the people celebrating Chivayo’s death immoral or is it the system that created him? - EWN

On 30 September 2026, a Zimbabwean self-styled billionaire, Wicknell Chivayo, died in a tragic helicopter accident alongside his wife and four other individuals. He was just 43.

Even before his death was confirmed by his family and the Zimbabwean police, social media posts had already begun proliferating, many of them celebratory in tone.

While politicians across the continent have since published their condolences and mourned his death, thousands of Zimbabweans, Kenyans, Tanzanians and other Africans have continued to celebrate it. Without context, such behaviour seems inappropriate - cruel, even. Some have argued that it is “unAfrican” and incongruent with the philosophy of Ubuntu, which is embedded in our cultures and spirituality.

But I believe that people have the right to mourn, or not to mourn, in ways that reflect how they felt about individuals. I do not subscribe to the idea that we must speak no ill of the dead.

To understand why so many people are celebrating Chivayo’s death, we must understand the controversies that surrounded him in life.