HARARE — Millionaire businessman Wicknell Chivayo has pledged a Toyota Aqua and US$20,000 in cash to Victor Kazembe, the diver hailed as a hero for recovering three bodies from a sewer pond in Budiriro on Monday.
Chivayo announced the reward in a characteristic social media post in which he pushed back at followers who had been tagging him in comments demanding he recognise Kazembe.
“I’ve heard your cries, although I don’t like people who run ahead of me,” he wrote on Facebook. “Please always give me time and allow me to also understand the background and get an appreciation of what whoever has done and if at all he deserves my recognition.”
Chivayo said he was moved after watching Kazembe explain his motivation for wading into the sludge-filled pit – initially to retrieve one body, only to find two more.
“When I heard him speak about the spirits of the dead, I didn’t even end up watching the rest of the video,” he wrote.
He directed Kazembe, also known as Coach Rambo, to collect the Toyota Aqua and the cash from Madzibaba Chipaga, who runs a car dealership in Harare, on Saturday morning.
“I say to you congratulations, my brother, for such bravery, courage and amazing love,” Chivayo wrote. “God bless you – we need more patriotic Zimbabweans like you.”
Kazembe described his actions as a “sacrifice,” noting that diving into a mud pool is not advisable.
Chivayo has splashed millions of dollars on gifts across a wide range of causes – from politicians and musicians to social media influencers. Occasionally, he comes through for ordinary people doing extraordinary things, as with Kazembe, and it is in those moments that he draws the widest praise.
