Wicknell Chivayo’s US$250,000 Range Rover gift to Advocate Uriri faces scrutiny over alleged customs fraud, a cancelled passport and legal fallout.
Written By: Timothy Ndoro | Published: October 26, 2026 | 4 min read
The posthumous unravelling of the late Sir Wicknell Chivayo’s empire has taken yet another scandalous turn. A new investigation claims that the luxury US$250,000 Range Rover famously announced as a gift to prominent lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri was actually smuggled into Zimbabwe using forged customs paperwork.
As Chivayo's estate battles millions in debt to local car dealerships and stranded assets at the Beitbridge border, leaked documents now reveal that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) cleared the high-end vehicle in Uriri’s name without his knowledge—allegedly using an uncertified copy of a passport that had been cancelled in 2024.
The Cancelled Passport
The critical issue of the investigation centers squarely on the identity of the importer. According to documents seen by ZimLive, Chivayo’s team supplied ZIMRA with an uncertified copy of Adv. Uriri’s old passport to falsely establish the lawyer as the individual bringing the car into the country.
The Smuggling Mechanics
The passport used for the customs clearance had actually been cancelled in 2024 after running out of pages. Uriri had absolutely no knowledge that his invalid documents were being used to import a vehicle.
ZIMRA spokesman Gladman Njani declined to discuss how an uncertified, cancelled passport bypassed their systems, citing strict confidentiality laws.
The Cost & Legal Backlash
The paper trail traces the 2026 Land Rover Autobiography back to a Johannesburg dealership, Verve Auto Sports. The financial scale of the transaction makes the fraudulent clearance even more severe.
“You have a document that says Advocate Uriri imported a vehicle into the country. That document tells a lie about its own contents. The transfer... presented in Uriri’s name is false and fraudulent.”
— Advocate Thabani Mpofu
Legal expert Adv. Thabani Mpofu reviewed the documents and argued that Chivayo should have imported the vehicle in his own name, paid the appropriate taxes, and then lawfully donated it. Mpofu suggested the vehicle should now be forfeited to the state.
Meanwhile, Exquisite Motors owner Victor Vikela—already embroiled in the US$5.1 million debt saga surrounding Chivayo's estate—distanced himself, stating his company merely stored the vehicle and had “nothing whatsoever to do with its acquisition and importation.”
The Unwanted Fortune
Chivayo had dramatically announced the gift to Uriri on X (formerly Twitter) on September 21, just nine days before his fatal helicopter crash in Marondera on September 30. However, the prominent lawyer wanted nothing to do with it.
People Also Ask (FAQs)
Advocate Lewis Uriri rejected the US$250,000 Range Rover and US$50,000 cash gift because the public announcement was made without his prior knowledge or discussion. Furthermore, investigations now show his cancelled passport was used fraudulently to clear the vehicle through customs.
Documents reveal that Chivayo’s team supplied an uncertified copy of Advocate Uriri’s old, cancelled passport to ZIMRA to make it look like Uriri imported the car himself, bypassing the proper channels of importing it under Chivayo's name and donating it legally.
According to legal expert Adv. Thabani Mpofu, because the customs transfer documents are false and fraudulent, the vehicle is liable to be forfeited to the state. This adds to the massive legal mess surrounding Chivayo's estate, which owes millions to various car dealerships.
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