Chivayo’s Ex-mother-in-law Arrested

Tabitha Madzikanda, the former mother-in-law of businessman Wicknell Chivayo, has been arrested.

Chivayo’s ex-wife, Sonja Madzikanda, spent Monday night in police custody and is due to appear in court with her mother on Wednesday.

“The charges are not yet clear, but the police have mentioned unauthorised distribution of content and undermining the authority of the president. We hope to get the precise charges soon,” Madzikanda’s lawyer, Rungano Mahuni, told ZimLive on Tuesday.

Tabitha, an FBC Bank executive, also faces fraud charges. She is accused of trying to withdraw US$1.4 million from a children’s trust account set up for Chivayo’s children. It is alleged that she intended to use the money to buy land and build cluster houses.

“The complaint is that she tried to withdraw these funds by attempting to remove Chivayo as a signatory,” one police source was quoted as saying.

In a separate case, Chivayo has told police that Sonja breached a High Court order governing access to their two minor children. She could now face contempt of court charges.

Chivayo has also alleged that Tabitha used AI to manipulate images to suggest he met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier than their meeting during Ramaphosa’s recent visit to Zimbabwe.

An image, purportedly taken from a video of Chivayo meeting Ramaphosa, circulated online on Monday.

Chivayo has told police the image is fake and claims Tabitha created it to damage Ramaphosa politically and to harm his business interests in South Africa.

Police have seized Tabitha’s phone to investigate the claims of digital image manipulation.

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