The Clay Pot Curse? Prophet Arrested After Exposing Wicknell Chivayo’s Dark Underwater Rituals at Lake Kariba

A self-styled prophet linked to a leaked recording in which late businessman Wicknell Chivayo discussed rituals he believed had helped him build wealth and gain access to President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been arrested in Zimbabwe.

Christopher Guzha, also known as Madzibaba DVD, was arrested in Goromonzi on Sunday in connection with an armed robbery in which an EcoCash agent reportedly lost US$12,000. His arrest came days after the recording spread rapidly online and drew renewed attention to Chivayo’s unusual relationship with religious leaders, political figures and wealthy public personalities.

Guzha’s wife, Bridget, said police seized his mobile phone immediately after arresting him. His son-in-law, who declined to be named, said the armed-robbery charge was a cover for the audio leak.

“It’s has everything to do with the leaking of the Wicknell audio,” he said.

Guzha was expected to appear before a regional court in Marondera on Monday.

The arrest has placed the recording at the centre of a growing story surrounding Chivayo, whose sudden death in a helicopter crash last week transformed a flamboyant public figure into the subject of intense national attention. Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteke, two pilots and a security aide died when their helicopter crashed at Kudenga Farm in Marondera Rural on the evening of 30 September. Police said the aircraft came down at about 17:00, around 70 kilometres east of Harare, and that there were no survivors.

The helicopter had reportedly taken off from Gandami in Chikomba, where the couple were building a rural home. Investigators recovered the aircraft’s black box. George Mashababe, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, said the helicopter struck the ground, spilling fuel before fire spread across the grass. The cause of the crash remained under investigation.

The deaths brought an abrupt end to the life of a businessman known as “Sir Wicknell”, a title he used widely despite never having received a British knighthood. Chivayo was 43 and was due to turn 44 the following month. He built his public image around luxury cars, private aircraft, large cash gifts and photographs with powerful people across Africa.

He was the managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe and became closely associated with major government contracts, including a US$172 million solar-power project in Gwanda awarded by the state-owned Zimbabwe Power Company. The project became entangled in years of legal disputes. He was also scrutinised over the procurement of election materials for Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections. An anti-corruption inquiry into contracts involving South African company Ren-Form was closed in 2025 after investigators said they had found no evidence linking Chivayo or the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to wrongdoing.

The leaked recording has added a darker and more secretive element to the public story of his rise. In it, Chivayo is heard thanking an unnamed Madzibaba for charms which he said helped him gain favour with Mnangagwa. He also promised the cleric a vehicle when his finances improved and discussed one final ritual at Lake Kariba.

Chivayo asked about the prophet’s availability for a ceremony involving a clay pot containing ritual objects being lowered into the depths of the lake. The discussion was linked to the Johane Masowe eChishanu tradition, part of Zimbabwe’s wider Vapostori religious movement, whose members are known for white garments, prayer meetings in open spaces and distinctive forms of worship outside conventional church buildings.

The recording has also caused confusion over the identities of the religious figures connected to Chivayo. Guzha, the man arrested in Goromonzi, is the prophet identified in connection with the leaked audio. Madzibaba Lawrence Katsiru, however, is a separate Johane Masowe eChishanu church leader and one of Chivayo’s most prominent religious associates. Katsiru was not identified as the person arrested over the alleged armed robbery.

Katsiru has described Chivayo as a committed supporter of the church. His tribute showed how extensively the businessman’s philanthropy reached the Vapostori community. Chivayo gave money and vehicles to church leaders and congregations, and his support extended to school fees, medical bills and help for widows and other vulnerable people.

“For many, he was a man who gave cars and cash. But to us, it was more than that,” Katsiru said.

Chivayo’s gifts to religious figures were not limited to Johane Masowe eChishanu. He gave United Family International Church US$1 million towards construction of a new church. Its founder, Emmanuel Makandiwa, and his wife, Ruth, received a 2026 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a Mercedes-Benz G63 G-Wagon and a Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600. Makandiwa said he had initially declined the cash donation and offered to pray for Chivayo instead.

“Sir Wicknell was a man who lived not just for his own comfort or personal advancement, but was exceedingly generous. Through his liberal giving, he played a remarkable role in the advancement of the Kingdom of God,” Makandiwa said.

Walter Magaya, founder of Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries, and members of his family also received valuable gifts. Magaya was given a Mercedes-Benz GLS600 Maybach and US$100,000, while his wife received a Toyota Land Cruiser 300 VXR and US$50,000. Their son, Walter Jnr, received a 2026 Lexus GX550, with a further US$50,000 pledged to PHD Ministries.

The scale of the gifts made Chivayo a major benefactor of Zimbabwe’s religious establishment. In the months before his death, he was also reported to have announced luxury vehicles for senior Johane Masowe Chishanu leaders, including Katsiru, Madzibaba Gibson and Madzibaba Israel. His donations helped finance church activities and gave him a visible place within religious communities that had long operated with limited resources.

His influence also extended directly into the political establishment. Mnangagwa and Chivayo maintained a close public relationship, and the president issued an unusually personal tribute after the crash. Mnangagwa said he had met Chivayo after a Cabinet meeting on the Tuesday before his death, when the businessman discussed plans for Zimbabwe and for disadvantaged communities, including war veterans.

“The sudden and unexpected tragic passing on of Mr and Mrs Chivayo, two crew members and a security aide in a helicopter crash yesterday afternoon left our Nation, my family, and me personally numbed and in deep shock and grief,” Mnangagwa said.

The president described the Chivayo family as philanthropic and said its charitable work had reached people in politics, religion, public service, culture, sport and other professions. Chivayo had also presented vehicles and cash to political figures and supporters, including gifts associated with ruling-party events and public programmes.

Chivayo’s connections crossed Zimbabwe’s borders. He appeared publicly with Kenya’s President William Ruto, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and other leaders. Ruto called him a dear friend after his death and remembered his energy and belief in Africa’s possibilities.

At home, Chivayo sponsored Scottland FC and regularly used social media to publicise donations to musicians, sports personalities, church leaders, students, patients and ordinary families. Supporters saw the gifts as practical charity. Others questioned the way luxury vehicles and large sums of money moved between a businessman, politicians and influential religious figures.

Now, with Chivayo and his wife buried after a crash that killed all six people aboard, the leaked recording has given new urgency to questions surrounding the businessman’s rise, his religious networks and the access he enjoyed at the highest levels of power. The arrest of Guzha has added a criminal investigation to a story already marked by wealth, faith, political proximity and a sudden and fatal end.