Controversial Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo receives Eswatini citizenship from King Mswati III

Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo has been granted Eswatini citizenship and presented with a diplomatic passport by King Mswati III, following a private audience at the Royal Palace in Ezulwini on June 18, expanding his growing network of relationships with African heads of state and monarchs.

Chivayo disclosed the development in a post on his verified Facebook page, accompanied by photographs of himself with the king and holding the diplomatic passport. He said the meeting was among the most significant of his career. "The highlight of my courtesy visit was His Majesty's most humbling instruction to his administration, which bestowed upon me the highest honour of being granted Eswatini citizenship, as the King accepted me as his young, fellow African son," he wrote. He added that the diplomatic passport was presented to facilitate ease of travel and business activity in Eswatini and across the continent in connection with infrastructure development pursuits.

According to Chivayo, discussions during the royal audience centred on industrialisation, infrastructure development, energy security and opportunities for increased African-led investment across the Southern African region. King Mswati III is the world's last absolute monarch and has governed Eswatini since 1986, making him one of Africa's longest-serving heads of state.

The Eswatini passport adds to a growing portfolio of travel documents and national connections that Chivayo has accumulated across Africa. He received a Kenyan passport in February 2026, a grant that was made public by Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi. His relationship with Kenya's President William Ruto has been among the most publicly visible of his cross-border political associations, with several meetings at State House in Nairobi and Sagana State Lodge documented through photographs shared on Chivayo's social media accounts. The Eswatini grant, which came from a sitting monarch rather than an elected executive, signals a broadening of that network into royal circles.

Chivayo, 43, built his business interests primarily through Intratrek Zimbabwe and IMC Construction Kenya, entities that have collectively won state contracts worth nearly $1 billion in Zimbabwe, mainly in the energy sector, as well as a reported stake in the $2.9 billion Jomo Kenyatta International Airport expansion contract in Kenya. He has described himself as a close ally of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa and has been a visible financier of the ruling ZANU-PF party. Critics and investigative journalists have consistently raised questions about the procurement processes behind his government contracts, allegations he has denied throughout.

His legal history includes a 2004 theft conviction and a 2018 case in which he faced charges related to a $5.6 million advance payment received by Intratrek for a 100-megawatt solar plant in Gwanda, Matabeleland South. Prosecutors alleged the funds were misappropriated. He was acquitted in March 2023 after a court ruled the underlying contract was valid. No criminal finding has been made in connection with his other business activities.

The Eswatini development extends a pattern in which Chivayo has sought to build relationships with African leaders across multiple countries simultaneously. In addition to Ruto and Mswati, he has been received by Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, among others. Whether those relationships translate into the infrastructure and energy contracts he publicly discusses as their purpose remains an open question in each market. In Eswatini, where foreign direct investment in infrastructure and energy has been a stated government priority, the granting of citizenship to a regional businessman with a track record of large contract wins positions Chivayo as a potential participant in those projects if they materialise.