By Farai D Hove | ZimEye At an event meant to showcase Zimbabwe’s best and brightest business prospects, it was ironically not innovation or enterprise that stole the show, but embarrassment.

Wicknell Chivayo — the controversial mogul under investigation by South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre for laundering over R1 billion in public funds — became an unexpected exhibit himself at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. Cameras caught Chivayo, despite his self-proclaimed billionaire status, repeatedly scratching inside his trousers in full view of diplomats, businesspeople, and state officials.

With all the wealth Chivayo has been flaunting on social media — fleets of luxury cars, designer clothes, and million-dollar deals — the public was left asking: could he not afford a simple bar of soap? Or is it that no amount of ill-gotten money can mask deeper personal neglect?

The images quickly went viral, turning what should have been a presidential showcase of Zimbabwean business prowess into a spectacle of ridicule. The man who once promised to build solar plants, deliver elections materials, and pave roads with $627 million contracts now couldn’t even maintain basic hygiene while in the president’s official entourage. 

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As one observer put it: “Chivayo was not just scratching an itch — he was scratching away whatever little credibility this event had left.”

In a gathering meant to symbolize integrity and progress, Chivayo’s antics became a metaphor for a nation where opulence is hollow, and dirty secrets lurk just beneath the surface — sometimes, quite literally.- ZimEye