How One AK-47 Could Have Changed Everything at Wicknell Chivayo’s In-Laws’ Farm
Marondera, Zimbabwe – 18 March 2025
By Farai D Hove | ZimEye| In what might be a reminder of how quickly fortunes can turn, the daring armed robbery at Alpha Omega Farm — the homestead belonging to the in-laws of flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo — has left the nation stunned. While the headlines focus on the 20-strong gang that raided the farm at 1:00 AM on 18 March, it is the absence of a single weapon that could have altered the course of that night.
Video footage during Chivayo’s wedding captured by ZimEye reveal an armed security team, which was withdrawn after the high-profile wedding event hosted by the Chivayo InLaws . Among the weapons Chivayo took off-site was an AK-47 rifle — a firearm powerful enough to stand as a force multiplier in such a scenario.
Security experts suggest that a single AK-47, wielded by a trained guard, could have been a decisive deterrent against the 20 attackers, who were armed with a mix of rifles, pistols, machetes, bolt cutters, and iron bars. “It only takes one strategically placed AK-47 to hold off or even repel such a group, especially if the attackers are disorganized or reliant on close-quarter tactics,” one expert explained.
Without that firepower on site, the gang easily overwhelmed farm security, assaulted family members, and forced their way into the home. The thieves made away with USD 74,100 in cash, a pistol, multiple Samsung smartphones, and other valuables.
It is a weapon both feared and revered — a single AK-47 rifle. Across Africa and beyond, history is littered with moments when this iconic firearm has tilted the scales of survival against overwhelming odds. In Somalia’s Bakara Market, a lone shopkeeper famously held off a mob of nearly 30 looters during the 2011 food crisis, firing warning shots with his AK-47 until security forces arrived. In Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt region, a single vigilante armed with the same rifle repelled 40 bandits attacking a farming community in 2020, forcing them into retreat. The weapon’s presence was also decisive during a 2017 robbery in Lusaka’s Chalala suburb, where a private guard used an AK-47 to fend off 25 heavily armed burglars, preventing what could have been a massacre. In South Africa’s Northern Cape in 2018, a lone farmer with an AK-47 stood his ground against a gang of 30 livestock thieves, wounding several and recovering stolen cattle. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, militia groups have often found themselves at a disadvantage against even a single AK-47-wielding rival holding a fortified position.
Yet, as chilling details emerge about last night’s robbery at Alpha Omega Farm in Marondera — the homestead of businessman Wicknell Chivayo’s in-laws — one question looms large: could the withdrawal of a single AK-47 rifle days earlier have changed the entire outcome of the night?
Police Commissioner Nyathi confirmed in an official statement that investigations are ongoing and appealed to the public for information to bring the suspects to justice. However, behind the formal appeals, lingering questions remain: Why was the security detail withdrawn so soon after the wedding, and how different might the outcome have been if just one AK-47 had been left behind?
The attack has reignited debate about personal security at high-profile rural estates, especially those linked to influential figures. For now, Alpha Omega Farm stands as a stark example of how, in the absence of even a single rifle, an entire homestead can be left exposed to the terror of organized criminals.
Mr Wicknell Chivayo did not respond to request for comment. – ZimEye