TUNGWARARA DISMISSES HELICOPTER WARNINGS: ‘WE WILL CONTINUE FLYING IN HONOUR OF CHIVAYO’
Zimbabwean businessman and Special Investment and Empowerment Advisor Paul Tungwarara has dismissed warnings urging him to stop travelling by helicopter following the death of his close associate, businessman Wicknell Chivayo, saying he will continue flying despite fears surrounding helicopter travel.
According to social-media posts attributed to Christine Charumbira and subsequently reposted by the ZANU PF Patriots account, Tungwarara made the remarks while travelling by helicopter to Mberengwa.
The comments come after Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, died in a helicopter crash in Marondera.
‘I WILL NOT STOP FLYING’
The posts say Tungwarara acknowledged that people had been approaching him with various prophecies and warnings, urging him to stop using helicopters following Chivayo's death.
But Tungwarara reportedly rejected the warnings.
He is quoted as saying he would not stop flying helicopters out of fear of the unknown, arguing that no person can escape death.
He reportedly told those around him that people should not live in fear of death as though they were immortal because, ultimately, all mortals must die.
The message was delivered while he was himself travelling by helicopter to Mberengwa, according to the posts.
‘WE WILL CONTINUE TO FLY’
Tungwarara reportedly went further, saying helicopter travel would continue as a way of honouring Chivayo.
The statement has attracted attention because Chivayo himself died in a helicopter crash, making Tungwarara's decision to continue using the same mode of transport particularly striking.
The ZANU PF Patriots post summarised his position as a refusal to live in fear of death and a commitment to continue flying helicopters in honour of Chivayo.
CHIVAYO AND WIFE’S BURIAL SET FOR THURSDAY
The developments come as arrangements for the burial of Chivayo and his wife have been announced.
According to a separate post by Charumbira, the burial of Wicknell Chivayo and Lucy Muteke has been set for Thursday, October 8, at Glen Forest Cemetery in Harare.
The couple died in a helicopter crash in Marondera.
The announcement places the funeral arrangements against a backdrop of intense public discussion about the circumstances of the crash, aviation safety and the risks associated with helicopter travel.
PROPHECIES AND AVIATION FEARS
The screenshots also reveal the extent to which spiritual warnings have entered the public conversation following the crash.
According to the posts, Tungwarara said he had received warnings and prophecies advising him to abandon helicopter travel.
He nevertheless rejected the idea that fear of a possible future event should determine how he lives his life.
His position is essentially that death cannot be avoided simply by eliminating one particular form of transport.
The remarks, made while travelling by helicopter, have given the discussion an additional dimension.
For Tungwarara, continuing to fly is not only a personal decision but, according to the posts, also a symbolic gesture in memory of Chivayo.
THE QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN
Tungwarara's comments do not establish anything about what the rest of ZANU PF elites think as many of them are reportedly taking precautionary measures and consultating Prophets and Sangomas.
What Tungwarara's comments do establish, according to the posts is believed to be a strategy for the leaders to regain confidence following mass celebration from Zimbabweans.
He has chosen not to retreat from helicopter travel.
Instead, he says he will continue flying — and, in his own words as reported in the posts, doing so in honour of the man whose death has made helicopter safety a major subject of public discussion in Zimbabwe.
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