By a Correspondent
Millionaire businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, will be buried without their heads after forensic teams failed to recover the remains following last week’s horrific helicopter crash in Marondera.
The couple will be laid to rest side by side at Glen Forest Cemetery in Harare on Thursday, October 8, with the family confirming that there will be no viewing of their bodies because of the extent of the burns sustained in the crash.
Chivayo’s uncle and family spokesperson, Herbert Chivayo, said forensic experts had initially suspected that some of the recovered remains could have been parts of the victims’ heads, but subsequent examinations established that they were not.
“I have seen on social media people saying that the heads were found, but that’s not true. No head was found,” Herbert said.
“There are some remains which forensic officials suspected to be head remains, but they found out that they were not. That’s the situation.”
He said the bodies had been severely burnt in the post-crash fire, making recovery and identification extremely difficult.
“The bodies were burnt until the fire died on its own, so you can imagine what the status is like. They were beyond recognition,” he said.
The family’s decision to proceed with the burial follows the completion of forensic and DNA identification procedures on the remains recovered from the crash site at Kudenga Farm.
The couple died last Wednesday when their helicopter crashed at Kudenga Farm in Marondera after encountering poor weather conditions. Fuel spilled during the impact and was followed by a fire that engulfed the wreckage and surrounding grass, according to preliminary information from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Chivayo, 43, and Lucy were travelling from their rural home in Gandami, Chikomba, when the helicopter went down.
Also killed in the crash were pilot Captain Calvin Tafirei Soda, co-pilot Captain Courage Mutavirwa and security aide Senelisiwe Magagula. The remains of the two pilots have since been buried, while Magagula was scheduled to be buried in Lupane on Monday.
The tragedy has drawn widespread attention because of Chivayo’s high public profile and his close relationships with senior political and business figures across Zimbabwe and the region.
The family has said the burial at Glen Forest will be open to members of the public, allowing friends, associates and members of the wider community to pay their final respects.
