Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy Muteke are being laid to rest in Harare today, October 8, with their unusual car-inspired coffins drawing attention during their final send-off.
The couple will be buried side by side at Glen Forest Memorial Park in Harare, although they will have separate graves.
Photos and videos shared ahead of the burial showed the personalized coffins designed with details resembling luxury vehicles.
Wicknell’s coffin bears WMC 777
Chivayo’s white coffin features a black luxury-car-style grille and carries the marking WMC 777, a personalized number plate associated with the businessman and his fleet of high-end vehicles.
The coffin was also draped in the Zimbabwean national flag after President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared Chivayo a Provincial Hero.
The businessman was widely known for his love of expensive cars, often displaying Rolls-Royces, Maybachs and other luxury vehicles on social media.
His final send-off has therefore carried a detail closely associated with the image he built during his lifetime.
Lucy’s coffin features Mercedes-Benz design.
Lucy Muteke’s coffin also carries a luxury-car theme.
Her casket features a Mercedes-Benz-inspired front grille, resembling a Mercedes-Maybach. It also carries the letters LULU, a personalized detail linked to Lucy.
Both coffins feature white finishes, gold-coloured handles and decorative details, with flowers and candles placed around them.
The unusual designs have attracted attention online, particularly because they reflect the couple’s association with luxury and high-end cars.
Why the couple will be buried in coffins
The use of coffins is also significant because Chivayo and Lucy were members of the Johane Masowe yeChishanu church, whose burial practices traditionally involve burying members without coffins.
However, church leaders made an exception following the condition of the remains after the helicopter crash that claimed their lives.
Chivayo, Lucy, Lucy’s personal aide Saneliswe Magagula and two pilots died on September 30 when the Bell 430 helicopter they were travelling in crashed and caught fire at Kudenga Farm near Marondera.
The family later confirmed that there would be no public viewing of the bodies because of the condition of the remains.
Final farewell
The couple’s remains were taken from Doves Funeral Services to the Chivayo family home in Gletwin on Wednesday, where they lay in state before today’s burial.
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets as the funeral procession moved through Harare, while family, friends and prominent guests gathered to pay their final respects.
Chivayo and Lucy are expected to be buried at Glen Forest Memorial Park today, marking the end of a funeral period that has attracted widespread attention across Zimbabwe and beyond.
