In 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa stood before a crowd in Mutoko and boldly declared Wicknell Chivayo a perfect candidate for Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Chivayo, at the time, was under heavy scrutiny for pocketing US$5.8 million in advance payments for the Gwanda Solar Project—without laying a single solar panel. That public rebuke seemed to signal a stand against corruption. But seven years later, the very man once condemned for fleecing the nation now claims he has Mnangagwa in a “dead man’s grip.”

A leaked audio recording has laid bare the shocking truth: Wicknell Chivayo is not just a protected businessman—he is the puppeteer behind the presidency. In the audio, Chivayo boasts of his power over Mnangagwa, his role in awarding corrupt contracts, and his immunity from prosecution. The NewsHawks, an investigative media house, has confirmed the audio’s authenticity, and its contents are explosive.

This is not just a scandal—it is state capture in broad daylight.

Chivayo brags that he walks Mnangagwa to the presidential jet, that he speaks to him daily, that he decides who gets tenders, and that ZEC—the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission—is in his pocket. He claims control over senior officials like Chief Secretary to Cabinet Martin Rushwaya, CIO boss Isaac Moyo, and even ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba. These are not small claims—they represent the heart of the Zimbabwean state.

Once accused of fraud, Chivayo has now transformed into a kingmaker, buying his protection with flashy cars, cash, and backdoor deals. He has gifted Zanu PF loyalists with vehicles, flooded party events with funds, and cemented his image as a political powerbroker. In return, the state has shielded him from the consequences of his corruption.

This is more than just Wicknell Chivayo gone rogue. This is Emmerson Mnangagwa exposed.

The president cannot claim ignorance. The audio reveals conversations between Chivayo and Mnangagwa about ongoing schemes. One recording even captures Mnangagwa’s voice reassuring Chivayo to “go ahead” and “keep in touch.” If ever there was doubt that the president is complicit, this damning evidence ends it.

Chivayo’s corruption is not limited to Zimbabwe. He has been globe-trotting, meeting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, not to attract investment—but to lobby for more shady contracts across Africa. This is a man operating as a criminal businessman with a presidential escort, selling not just tenders, but Zimbabwe’s integrity.

What makes this scandal even more sickening is its timing. Zimbabwe is in the middle of an economic free fall. Inflation is surging. The ZiG currency is collapsing. Hospitals are without medicine. Schools are starved of resources. And yet, here is Chivayo, siphoning millions, flaunting luxury, and buying political immunity—while ordinary Zimbabweans struggle to put food on the table.

The fallout must be immediate and far-reaching. If Mnangagwa truly has nothing to hide, he must publicly distance himself from Chivayo, suspend implicated officials, and call for a full independent investigation. If not, then we can only conclude that the president is not just captured—he is a co-conspirator.

Zimbabwe cannot afford another scandal swept under the carpet. The people deserve to know why a man once destined for Chikurubi is now dining with the president, controlling tenders, and mocking justice. They deserve answers. They deserve action.

This is not about political rivalry. This is about the survival of Zimbabwe’s democracy—what little of it remains. If Chivayo walks free after these revelations, it sends a chilling message: in Zimbabwe, corruption is not punished—it is rewarded.

The time for silence is over. Civil society, the media, the courts, and the international community must rise to this moment. We must demand accountability, demand justice, and demand an end to the mafia-style politics that have turned Zimbabwe into a playground for the corrupt and powerful.

Chivayo’s grip on power must be broken. And Mnangagwa must be held to account—for the promises he made in 2017, and for the betrayal that is now plain for all to see.