Tendai Ruben Mbofana
At his late brother Wicknell Chivayo’s burial, Joachim “G6” Chivayo took center stage to deliver a reflection on their financial past.
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In his apparent dismay over an unfulfilled promise for $1 million, Joachim seemed to completely disregard one crucial detail: he was not the biggest casualty in this grand scheme.
He spoke candidly about selling his personal cars to raise $220,000 to assist Wicknell in securing the infamous Gwanda Solar Power Plant tender.
He recounted how his brother promised him a $1 million payout once the state funds landed, only to hand him a luxury vehicle instead while blowing through millions in public funds.
Why did Joachim, in his ranting over an unfulfilled promise for $1 million, not also raise the same outrage over the non-construction of the 100 MW solar power plant?
Was that not the far more important issue to speak on?
What could possibly be more important, especially concerning someone accorded hero status, than holding individuals accountable for blowing funds intended for preliminary work on a power plant meant to alleviate the crippling electricity shortages facing the country?
What could be more critical than addressing the spending of millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money on designer shoes, luxury cars, and lavish international holidays?
Surely this non-delivery should have outraged Joachim more, but it clearly didn’t.
Why was that?
Does this not show us how thoroughly detached these individuals are from the daily struggles of ordinary Zimbabweans?
It points directly to a class of people who have grown so privileged through their proximity to power that they no longer view the misuse of millions of dollars in public funds as a serious offense.
In fact, the reality that Joachim would recount these events at his brother’s burial—seemingly in a lighthearted or jocular manner—should deeply disturb us all.
Does he honestly think misusing millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money is nothing more than a joke?
If anything, his own role in this entire affair is equally unsettling.
Why did he expect to be paid a $1 million return on a $200,000 loan to his brother?
What kind of extraordinary interest rate is that?
Does Joachim not even realize that by making these statements, he was publicly confessing to the entire nation that he was an active participant in this scandal?
The $5 million disbursed to Wicknell by the state-owned Zimbabwe Power Company was never intended for personal enrichment.
It was allocated strictly for specific preliminary civil works for the Gwanda Solar Power Plant.
So why did Joachim believe receiving $1 million out of that public money was acceptable?
Was he not, at most, entitled only to the $200,000 he had originally lent his brother?
Then again, we shouldn’t be particularly shocked by such moral blindness coming from the very same man who has a pending gold smuggling case in South Africa involving R15 million worth of gold.
This exposes the mindset of those in privileged positions who simply do not care that the looting of national resources inflicts severe real-world consequences on everyday citizens.
While millions of dollars were diverted into personal accounts, Zimbabwe’s health delivery system crumbled, public schools suffered from a lack of basic resources, and essential infrastructure continued to decay nationwide.
Yet individuals like Wicknell and his brother clearly remained indifferent to these social costs, prioritizing only their personal satisfaction, luxury, and immediate pleasure.
It is time for all Zimbabweans to firmly reject the continuous plunder of national resources, particularly by those who leverage proximity to power for self-aggrandizement.
The systematic conversion of public funds into private wealth undermines the very foundation of our society and robs future generations of vital development.
Public money belongs to the nation, and state resources must serve the public good.
Plundering public funds is a crime against ordinary citizens that requires absolute accountability.
- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to contact him on +263715667700 or mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com