NAIROBI, Kenya- When President William Ruto personally drove Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo to a helipad after a family celebration in August, Chivayo made sure the moment reached a wider audience.
In a social media post, he described sitting beside the President, with his wife in the back, as they travelled about three kilometres to his waiting helicopter.
He had attended an engagement celebration for Ruto’s daughter, Charlene, at the President’s Kilgoris home.
The episode brought renewed attention in Kenya to a businessman whose public profile combines infrastructure contracts, expensive gifts and access to political leaders.
Known as “Sir Wicknell”, Chivayo has built a name well beyond Zimbabwe’s business circles.
His social media accounts document luxury purchases and encounters with influential people, making his personal life almost as visible as his commercial interests.
The businessman behind Intratrek
Born on November 22, 1982, Chivayo is the founder of Intratrek Zimbabwe, a company associated with energy and infrastructure projects.
One of its best-known contracts is the Gwanda solar project, a proposed 100-megawatt power plant in southern Zimbabwe.
The project’s original contract price was approximately US$172.8 million.
The venture has attracted years of scrutiny over delays and a contractual dispute with the Zimbabwe Power Company.
In January 2023, the High Court ruled that the engineering, procurement and construction contract remained valid.
The Supreme Court dismissed the power company’s appeal in December that year, leaving the agreement in force.
The project returned to the headlines in September 2026 after reports that the parties had renegotiated its cost to below US$132 million, reflecting a fall in global solar panel prices.
ZimLive reported that the revised arrangements were intended to allow work to proceed.
For Chivayo, Gwanda remains a prominent example of both the scale of his business ambitions and the questions surrounding delivery of his company’s projects.
His relationship with President Ruto
Chivayo’s Kenyan connections have become a significant part of his public image.
His account of the August visit offered an unusually personal glimpse of his relationship with Ruto. Rather than simply posting a photograph from an official meeting, he shared an encounter during a family occasion, with the President behind the wheel.
Y News reported at the time that Chivayo expressed surprise and excitement at the gesture.
Asked about the relationship by The Times, Chivayo described it as personal and based on faith, respect and mentorship. He denied using his access to Ruto to seek contracts or preferential treatment.
He is also a public supporter of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Chivayo has defended his political donations, saying support for a leader should not be equated with buying influence.
Luxury cars and cash gifts
Chivayo’s gifts have made him a regular subject of entertainment and general news coverage in Zimbabwe.
In May 2025, he gave veteran Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation journalist Reuben Barwe a Toyota Land Cruiser and US$100,000.
Barwe publicly welcomed the gesture, saying it recognised his decades in broadcasting.
Religious figures have also featured in his public announcements of donations.
In one post, Chivayo pledged vehicles for a pastor and his wife, along with funding for church construction and charitable work.
More recently, he gave a therapist a Mercedes-Benz C200 and US$10,000.
Such announcements have helped make his spending a central feature of his celebrity.
A public image shaped by access and spending
Chivayo’s prominence rests on several overlapping roles: an infrastructure businessman, a public donor and a frequent presence around political leaders.
His company’s Gwanda contract puts his commercial record under scrutiny, while his gifts and social media posts keep him visible far beyond the energy sector.
For Kenyan audiences, the image of Ruto driving him to a helicopter captured that combination of wealth and access.
It also sharpened interest in the business career behind the name “Sir Wicknell”.
