By A Correspondent | ZimEye | Harare, Zimbabwe – Businessman Wicknell Chivayo, who yesterday (Wednesday) issued a statement categorically denying involvement in any corrupt activities regarding the 2023 election’s ballot printing, now faces significant scrutiny as video evidence has surfaced contradicting his claims. Chivayo’s statement, released in response to circulating voice messages, vehemently denied his involvement in money laundering dealings, branding the audio recordings as fake.
Chivayo said he is a law abiding citizen. In his detailed statement, Chivayo claimed, “I categorically refute, deny and dismiss with contempt, recording the voice messages in question. For the avoidance of any doubt I have never, at any material time, recorded the alleged voice messages, neither have I transmitted such to anyone.” He further asserted his integrity, stating, “I am a law-abiding citizen and businessman of international repute who upholds the highest level of integrity in all my business transactions.”
However, Chivayo’s denials have come under severe doubt following the release of a video showing him in the company of the man talked of in the audios as Chief Jose (Joseph Mhaka), a UK-convicted fraudster involved in a £1.3 million cheque scam, who is still on the run from UK law enforcement agents. The footage captures Chivayo assisting Mhaka in evading arrest, including facilitating travel on private jets. (video).
Chivayo had also emphasized in his statement, “I do not condone any corrupt practices and I thoroughly condemn any illicit, criminal or unethical conduct in both the public and private sectors.” The emergence of the video now raises serious questions about the authenticity of his denial and the veracity of his self-portrayal as a man of integrity.
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Chivayo’s attempts to discredit the voice recordings as part of a malicious campaign against him, purportedly orchestrated by “two excitable individuals,” appear increasingly untenable in light of this new evidence. He had labeled the individuals as “overzealous extortionists and fraudsters” and reiterated his readiness to face any legal consequences arising from the allegations.
In the footage, Chivayo is announcing Joseph Mhaka to his followers, as “Chief J,” the same title heard in the leaked audios he has discredited.
Joseph Mhaka, is a fugitive following a high-profile bank fraud case in the UK. Mhaka, along with his accomplices Naison Mubaiwa and Paddington Muzondiwa, orchestrated a complex scheme to defraud the banking and insurance group HBOS of £1.3 million. This operation, described by Judge Kerry MacGill as “fraud on a grand scale,” involved intercepting cheque books at an HBOS branch in Leeds, depositing the cheques into bank accounts controlled by the trio, and then withdrawing the illicit gains.
Mhaka, the mastermind behind the scheme, managed to evade arrest, unlike Mubaiwa and Muzondiwa, who were sentenced to three-and-a-half years and two years in prison, respectively. The case, which came to light in 2009, shocked many and highlighted the lengths to which some individuals would go to exploit financial systems.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Mhaka had moved to the UK as a failed asylum seeker, presumably in search of a better life. However, instead of building a legitimate future, he became entangled in criminal activities. The massive fraud operation led to his conviction in absentia, and he has been on the run from British law enforcement agents ever since.
Detective Chief Superintendent Howard Crowther of West Yorkshire Police stated, “We accept the sentences passed today and hope they serve as a warning to other would-be fraudsters who think they can get away with stealing cash. We will not standby and allow people to live off ill-gotten gains at the expense of others.” The investigation into Mhaka’s whereabouts continues, with law enforcement determined to bring him to justice and recover the stolen funds.
Joseph Mhaka remains at large, on the assistance of Wicknell Chivayo.
The two briefly converse in the footage as they boast of flying provate jet, stating as follows:
Wicknell Chivayo: Inside here we don’t have this thing of saying, we are now ready for take off, so please fasten your, what? Your belt and what? This thing of being told to switch your phones is not done here.
Joseph Mhaka: LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH. Wicknell Chivayo: So we just say, Chief J, cabin crew and cross check, we are now taking off please switch off your phones and what what…
Joseph Mhaka: aaah, we are not doing the what what what!
Wicknell Chivayo: Please switch your phones off, but, our destination, we came from Harare to elsewhere in Africa.
This development casts a shadow over Chivayo’s insistence on his innocence and his previous claims that he had no influence over or involvement with government officials. It also puts into perspective his pledge for a thorough investigation by state authorities, whose findings he promised would be made public.
As the controversy deepens, the public awaits further clarification and the results of any official investigations. – ZimEye