HARARE (AP) — The death in a helicopter crash of Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo, his wife and three others has reverberated across government and industry circles on the continent, as investigators began examining what caused the aircraft to go down.
Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo said the process of identifying the victims was “painful” because of the impact and damage of Wednesday's fiery crash near the capital, Harare.
A government spokesperson and police initially put the death toll in the crash at six, but police said in a statement Thursday that there were five people on board who died, including two crew members. Police also formally identified Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, as among the victims in their new statement.
Chivayo was a close ally of Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and often posted pictures of encounters, including dinners, with heads of state from across Africa.
In a condolence message, Mnangagwa said he was “numbed” by the death, describing Chivayo as “consummately philanthropic.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe said preliminary observations showed that the helicopter hit the ground, spilling fuel that ignited and burned surrounding grass. Officials said the cause of the crash had yet to be established. A black box was being examined, state broadcaster ZBC News reported. The mangled wreckage lay on the burnt grass as workers from a funeral parlor collected the victims' remains.
The grim scene was a stark contrast to the flamboyant public life the businessman had cultivated. Just hours before the crash, he posted photographs of two luxury vehicles he said he was gifting two of his lawyers, along with $750,000 in cash.
He ended the post with the words: “Saved the best for last.” The giveaways were typical of a man who made extraordinary wealth and generosity central to his public image. Over the years, Chivayo gave away dozens of luxury cars, buses, cash and other gifts to celebrities, church leaders, sports figures, politicians and social media followers, frequently broadcasting his largesse online.
But perhaps more striking than the cars was the company he kept.
Chivayo, 43, nurtured unusually close relationships with African political leaders, regularly posting photographs and videos of encounters with presidents including Mnangagwa, Kenya’s William Ruto, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu and others.
In August, Chivayo posted a video showing Ruto driving him to a helicopter after attending a traditional engagement ceremony involving the Kenyan president’s daughter.
“I’ve lived large and had many different and exceptionally beautiful experiences in my opulent lifestyle, but certainly this was the first,” Chivayo wrote. Both Ruto, behind the wheel, and Chivayo are seen laughing, with Chivayo's wife grinning from the back seat.
Ruto called him "a dear friend."
Chivayo's Rolls-Royces, private aircraft, designer shoes, luxury watches, shopping trips abroad and multimillion-dollar gifts were a constant presence on social media, while his relationships with presidents gave him visibility far beyond Zimbabwe.
He had received multiple government contracts, some of which drew controversy or allegations of fraud that were thrown out by courts or dismissed by investigating authorities.
On Zimbabwean social media, some people openly celebrated his death, citing his wealth and political connections as reasons for their anger over the country’s economic hardships and allegations surrounding his business dealings. One prominent news website ran the headline: “We are not mourning — Zimbabweans celebrate death of controversial businessman.”
Others pushed back against the celebrations. “What kind of people are we who celebrate someone’s death? It’s un-African,” opposition lawmaker Chalton Hwende wrote.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
Mortuary personnel work at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo, his wife and others at Kudenga Farm near Marondera, Zimbabwe, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo)
Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrives to speak during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Mortuary personnel work at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo, his wife and others at Kudenga Farm near Marondera, Zimbabwe, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo)
U.S. President Donald Trump says it's “possible” he may ramp up bombing of Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections and that he rejected Iran's latest peace offer because it's not good enough.
Fighting between Houthi rebels and government forces overnight stirred fears that the Iran-backed rebels may be advancing toward Taiz City in southwestern Yemen.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage is available here.
Trump said in a Time magazine interview published Thursday that he won't now accept proposals from Iran that “he wouldn't have approved a year ago.”
He left open the possibility of resuming bombing Iran after the Nov. 3 election. He refused to offer details, telling journalists, "I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb?”
The U.S. president told Time magazine that he only heard about those reports on the same day that the Sept. 28 interview was conducted with Time reporters, adding “I can't imagine this.”
Trump said had Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu been forewarned, “he would have done something about it" or "would have had people at least alert.”
An Israeli newspaper reported that Netanyahu was directly warned by the president of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was planning a major offensive just days before the militant group attacked on Oct. 7, 2023.
Netanyahu strongly rejected the report.
In the same Time magazine interview, Trump repeatedly avoided answering directly whether Netanyahu should be reelected in elections later this month.
Trump said that he's “not involved in politics anymore” and touted his own record on Israel.
But he said Netanyahu shouldn't be underestimated even if "people have written off Bibi many, many times, just like they’ve written off me many, many times.”
Of Netanyahu’s opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, Trump said: “I don’t hear bad things about him.”
The Trump administration on Thursday announced sanctions on Iran's automotive and rail industries in attempts to get the country to capitulate, citing entities based in Indonesia, the UAE and Germany, among other countries.
Two of Iran’s largest auto manufacturers, Iran Khodro Co. and SAIPA Iranian Automobile Manufacturing Co., were sanctioned alongside several foreign companies that provide auto parts and raw materials.
The actions by the U.S. Treasury come as Trump officials highlight how Iran's currency has fallen to new record lows. The administration credits the continued erosion of the Iranian economy to its months-long economic campaign and has no plans to cease the financial penalties anytime soon even as negotiations between the two countries have restarted.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels clashed with government forces overnight into Thursday in residential neighborhoods in eastern Taiz, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Mokha, which the Houthis seized last month.
A main road linking Taiz and Aden was cut off due to the latest clashes.
Al-Thawra Hospital, located a few kilometers from the clashes, received six bodies and 35 wounded people Thursday, according to hospital manager Abdelrahman al-Sabry.
The official told The Associated Press by phone Thursday the number of dead and wounded was similar to those in early September, when fighting was intense before clashes de-escalated.
Renewed violence in Yemen has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands. The Houthis captured the strategic city of Mokha and a number of Red Sea islands last month, extending their reach to the key maritime waterway of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
It was the Houthis’ biggest land grab in years and ended a 2022 ceasefire that largely stopped major fighting in Yemen’s 12-year civil war.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said Thursday the rebels targeted a power distribution station in the area of Medina two days earlier. The strike shut down a transformer, but didn't affect the power grid. The Houthis have yet to respond to the claim.
By Marzouk al-Jaberi and Fatma Khaled
Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Britain’s ambassador in Tehran on Thursday to “strongly protest” allegations by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham linking Iran to a sabotage plot at RAF Fairford, Iranian state television reported.
The ministry dismissed allegations that Iran was connected to the alleged plot as “baseless” and called on the British government to provide an official explanation and change its approach toward Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also posted on X that the U.K. was "barking up the wrong tree.”
Netanyahu told Fox News Thursday that the suspect in the FlyDubai incident was an Omani national who got through a loophole in Israeli constraints barring pilots from countries like Oman that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel.
He said both countries are “interested in making sure this doesn’t happen again" and warned that “it might be attempted again because we have indications that Iran and its proxies are trying to conduct attacks against Israel and Israelis right now in this election season.”
Yaniv Hayoun, a passenger aboard the FlyDubai flight, said after arriving in Tel Aviv Wednesday night that the two British pilots who safely brought the aircraft in to land were sitting "one row in front of me, row six, and I was in row seven.”
The Soundstorm music festival in Saudi Arabia has been canceled for this year, and organizers said it will return in 2027.
No reason was given for the cancellation. The festival, which in the past has featured international stars including Bruno Mars, Cardi B and DJ Khaled, is the latest major entertainment event in the kingdom to be cancelled this year.
Organizers MDLBEAST had earlier announced the cancellation of the 1001 music festival in Riyadh, which was scheduled for the end of the month. A week ago, organizers postponed the sixth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival from December to the fourth quarter of 2027.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Passengers who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on FlyDubai plane, arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Tarek al-Salami, 7, who was displaced from the city of Mokha and is showing symptoms of malnutrition, sits on a bed while receiving treatment at a therapeutic feeding center in Buraiqa, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
Israeli passengers who had been aboard a FlyDubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia are welcomed at the arrivals gate at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israeli passenger Haim Lazarovich, who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on FlyDubai plane, arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun, with blood stains on his shirt, who was aboard a Flydubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, is welcomed at the arrivals gate at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)
