NAIROBI, Kenya- Zimbabwean businessman, the late Wicknell Chivayo, served three years in prison after a 2005 money-laundering conviction, years before becoming known for his wealth and friendships with African presidents.
The High Court sentenced him to five years in prison on August 4, 2005, with two years conditionally suspended.
He served his sentence at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Zimbabwe.
Three cheques at the centre of the prosecution
A Zimbabwe Supreme Court judgment, recorded as SC 94/05, identifies the businessman as Wicknel Munodaani Chivhayo.
He was prosecuted under Section 63(1)(b) of the Serious Offences (Confiscation of Profits) Act.
The prosecution alleged that he received criminal proceeds through three cheques on July 4 and 5, 2002, deposited them into his bank account, then withdrew and disposed of the money on several dates between July 4 and 9.
The charge alleged that he knew, or reasonably should have known, that the money came from criminal activity.
He denied the charges but was convicted of money laundering.
The promised payment into a South African account
An alternative charge alleged that Chivayo falsely told commercial farmer and businessman, the late Digby Sean Nesbitt, he had deposited R837,000 into a South African national, Shane Peter Nesbitt’s, South African bank account.
In exchange, Digby allegedly handed over $37,665,000. Prosecutors said the promised rand deposit had not been made.
The alternative charge covered June 28 to July 15, 2002.
The judgment records a conviction on the main money-laundering charge, rather than a separate conviction on that alternative allegation.
Prosecution in Zimbabwe
Chivayo was convicted in Zimbabwe, with subsequent Supreme Court proceedings held in Harare.
The judgment identifies the South African bank account but does not specify the precise location of each transaction.
It does not establish that the offence was committed in South Africa.
Missing court records delayed his appeal
Chivayo challenged his conviction and sentence, but missing court documents delayed the appeal for years.
In May 2016, his lawyers, Advocate Thabani Mpofu and Wilson Manase, sought to have the conviction overturned, arguing that the missing record prevented the appeal from being heard.
By that time, he had completed his effective three-year sentence.
His lawyers argued that the prolonged delay breached his constitutional rights, including the right to a fair hearing within a reasonable period and access to a court.
In July 2016, The Herald reported that four notebooks containing the trial judge’s notes had been recovered, more than a decade after the original record disappeared.
The discovery allowed officials to begin reconstructing the proceedings. A state lawyer requested a postponement to give the court registry time to complete that work.
The Times later reported that the conviction was quashed on appeal.
Later acquittal in the Gwanda solar case
Chivayo also faced a separate prosecution involving payments to his company, Intratrek Zimbabwe, for the Gwanda solar power project.
That case concerned a proposed 100-megawatt plant and advance payments from the Zimbabwe Power Company for preliminary work.
On March 13, 2023, a Harare magistrate acquitted Chivayo and Intratrek.
The magistrate found that the allegations did not establish fraud and that the payments were governed by an engineering, procurement and construction contract.
The court also cited an evaluation of preliminary works supporting the company’s position that it had met its contractual obligations.
The Gwanda prosecution was separate from the 2005 money-laundering conviction that resulted in Chivayo’s imprisonment.
