- Customs documents show a KSh 32m Range Rover was cleared by Zimbabwe's revenue authority using a passport Advocate Uriri had already cancelled
- Prominent lawyer Uriri had publicly rejected the luxury vehicle before fraud questions emerged over how it entered the country
- A senior Zimbabwean advocate who reviewed the documents says the vehicle may have to be forfeited to the state
Fraud questions have emerged around a KSh 32 million luxury vehicle that the late Zimbabwean tycoon Wicknell Chivayo announced as a gift to prominent lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri.
Source: UGC
This is after a report by ZimLive that the documents it reviewed indicated the car was imported into Zimbabwe using Uriri's identity without his knowledge.
The vehicle, a 2026 Range Rover Sport Autobiography sourced from Verve Auto Sports in Johannesburg at a purchase price of R2,882,782, was cleared through the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) with import duty totalling US$74,460.57.
Crucially, the customs paperwork named Uriri as the importer and attached an uncertified copy of a passport he had cancelled in 2024 after it ran out of pages.
When Chivayo announced the gift
Chivayo announced the gift publicly on 21 September 2026, stating it was recognition for legal services Uriri had provided over the years.
He also offered a separate US$50,000 cash payment described as being "for fuel".
Uriri rejected both, saying the announcement "came as a complete surprise, without prior notice or discussion" and that the two men had not been in professional contact since June 2024.
He said all previous legal work had been fully paid for and that accepting the gifts would compromise his professional independence.
Uriri is part of a legal team representing activists challenging constitutional amendments that extended President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term.
Chivayo subsequently redirected the same vehicle to another lawyer, Advocate Silvester Hashiti, this time accompanied by an offer of US$500,000 in cash.
Chivayo died on 30 September 2026 when a helicopter he was travelling in crashed near Marondera before Hashiti could collect the car.
The Harare dealership storing the vehicle, Exquisite Motors, has since directed Hashiti to the executor of Chivayo's estate.
Senior Zimbabwean lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu, who reviewed the documents, said the clearance process was unlawful.
"You have a document that says Advocate Uriri imported a vehicle into the country. That document tells a lie about its own contents," Mpofu said. "The transfer (to settle customs duty) that is presented in Uriri's name is false and fraudulent." He argued that the vehicle "was imported fraudulently, is the subject of the commission of criminal misconduct and must therefore be forfeited to the state."
ZIMRA spokesman Gladman Njani declined to comment on the transaction specifically, citing confidentiality obligations under the Revenue Authority Act and the Customs and Excise Act.
Exquisite Motors owner Victor Vikela said his company had no involvement in the vehicle's importation, adding that it was no longer at the showroom but declining to say where it had been moved.
Uriri himself was brief when approached for further comment.
"You guys must just let Wicknell rest in peace," he said.
Chivayo, who died aged 42, was known across southern Africa for his flamboyant lifestyle and government-linked contracts reportedly worth billions of dollars.
Human rights lawyer Doug Coltart had warned in September 2026 that recipients of Chivayo's car gifts could face prosecution under Zimbabwe's Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, carrying potential jail terms of up to 25 years.
Source: TUKO.co.ke