Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy Muteke will be buried without their heads after forensic teams failed to recover them from the September 30 helicopter crash near Marondera.
Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, will be laid to rest without their heads this Thursday, after forensic teams confirmed they were unable to recover them from the wreckage of the helicopter crash that killed the couple.
Chivayo and Muteke died on September 30 when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed and caught fire at Kudenga Farm in Marondera. The couple were among five people who lost their lives in the incident. Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo said the victims' bodies were severely burned and fragmented on impact, complicating efforts to recover and identify their remains.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Herbert said forensic examinations had initially raised hope that some recovered remains could be the couple's skulls, but further testing established that this was not the case. With the search for the heads unsuccessful, the family has confirmed there will be no public viewing of the bodies ahead of burial.
Chivayo and Muteke will be laid to rest side by side, though in separate graves, at Glen Forest Cemetery in Harare on Thursday, October 8. The family has indicated that despite the private nature of the circumstances surrounding their deaths, the burial will be open, reflecting the wide public following Chivayo commanded during his life.
The revelation has added a heavy layer of grief to an already devastating loss for the Chivayo family, who continue to mourn a couple widely known across Zimbabwe's business and philanthropic circles. As preparations for Thursday's burial continue, the family has asked for understanding and support as they lay their loved ones to rest under such painful circumstances.