HARARE – Wicknell Chivayo’s former mother-in-law, Tabitha Madzikanda, has been arrested, her lawyer Rungano Mahuni confirmed on Tuesday.
The millionaire tender tycoon’s ex-wife Sonja Madzikanda spent the night in police custody and is now set to appear in court alongside 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,” Mahuni told ZimLive.
Police sources said Tabitha, an FBC Bank executive, also faces fraud charges, accused of attempting to withdraw $1.4 million from Chivayo’s children’s trust account, which she allegedly planned to use to buy land and construct cluster houses.
“The complaint is that she tried to withdraw these funds by attempting to remove Chivayo as a signatory,” a police source said.
Separately, Chivayo told police that Sonja had breached the terms of a High Court order governing access to their two minor children. She could face contempt of court charges.
Chivayo also reportedly told police that Tabitha had used artificial intelligence to manipulate images to create the impression that he had met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier than their encounter during Ramaphosa’s recent visit to Zimbabwe.
An image purportedly taken from a video showing Chivayo meeting Ramaphosa circulated online on Monday. Chivayo has allegedly told police the image is fake, claiming it was created by Tabitha to inflict political damage on Ramaphosa and harm his business interests in Zimbabwe’s southern neighbour.
The South African president’s spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, previously said Chivayo was unknown to Ramaphosa before their encounter in Zimbabwe.
Police have seized Tabitha’s phone in a bid to verify the claims of digital manipulation of images.
Chivayo has not issued any public comments on the arrests.
