Tragedy Strikes As Prominent Billionaire, Wife D!e In Helicopter Crash

A helicopter crash in Marondera, Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe, has claimed the lives of six people, including prominent businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the helicopter crashed in a rural part of Marondera on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, with six people on board. Zimbabwean authorities later confirmed that there were no survivors.

Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo confirmed that Wicknell Chivayo and his wife were among those who died in the crash. Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana also confirmed the incident, stating that the aircraft was carrying a high-profile businessman, other passengers and two pilots.

The Zimbabwean government expressed condolences to the families and friends of the victims, while police indicated that further details concerning the identities of those on board would be released as investigations continued. Reports said the helicopter went down at about 5 p.m. in the Marondera area, southeast of Harare.

In a separate incident in Nigeria, Igbu Job Terhemen, the Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Fiidi Council Ward, Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, was reportedly attacked and later died.

According to reports, Terhemen was allegedly attacked in the early hours of Wednesday after leaving home the previous evening to watch a football match in the Kanshio area of Makurdi. A friend of the deceased said that when he failed to return home, relatives and friends began searching for him.

Terhemen was reportedly found around 2 a.m. in a bush near his residence along the Makurdi-Otukpo Road, close to the NNPC depot. The Benue State chapter of the NDC alleged that he had been ambushed by suspected assailants, tied up and injected with substances suspected to be poisonous before being abandoned.

The NDC has condemned the incident and called on security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding Terhemen’s death and bring those responsible to justice. The circumstances and identities of the alleged attackers remain subject to investigation.