Inside Zimbabwean mogul Wicknell Chivayo's R160m Clifton home — Black Coffee's new neighbor

When Wicknell Chivayo decides to buy a house, he buys a SAOTA-designed, four-floor Clifton mansion with French Oak flooring, custom Murba wood detailing, a private penthouse-style master suite, a wine cellar and unobstructed views of Robben Island across Table Bay. The total bill came to R160 million ($8.7 million), covering the property and every finish and fitting inside it. Chivayo shared the news on social media, describing the investment as money well spent and crediting God for the milestone.

Four floors above the Atlantic

"We were welcomed to our new home in Clifton/Cape Town last weekend," Chivayo wrote. "A cool R160 million in total well spent including everything done and delivered with utmost class and attention to detail. God is the greatest."

The figure covers both the property acquisition and its full interior outfitting, according to Chivayo's own account, making it one of the most significant cross-border real estate moves by a Zimbabwean businessperson in recent memory.

Designed by SAOTA, one of South Africa's most celebrated architectural firms, the four-bedroom residence sits on a prime Clifton mountainside location bordering the Table Mountain Nature Reserve. It commands sweeping views of Table Bay and Robben Island. Its finishes include French Oak flooring, custom Murba wood detailing, a designer Eurocasa kitchen, a private penthouse-style master suite, entertainment facilities, a gym, a home theater space, a wine cellar provision and a Kone lift servicing all four floors.

Chivayo credited interior designer Stephen Pelerade and the team at Pelerade Design House for the property's finishing. In the same post, he paused to remember Ashleigh, whose passing he said continues to weigh on the family. "As we celebrate this new beautiful home, we continue to miss and pray that may our beloved Ashleigh's beautiful and dear soul continue to rest in eternal peace," he wrote.

A new address on Africa's most expensive coast

The purchase places Chivayo among a growing roster of high-profile Clifton residents, including internationally acclaimed DJ and music producer Black Coffee and South African mining and logistics magnate Solly "MySol" Madibela. Clifton is not a suburb that rewards modesty. Its properties rank among the most expensive in South Africa, and the enclave's combination of Atlantic-facing privacy, security and proximity to Cape Town's business corridors has made it a preferred address for wealth that wants to be seen and protected simultaneously.

The Clifton acquisition is the latest in a string of high-value asset moves by Chivayo in quick succession. It follows his reported purchase of a R129 million ($7m) mansion in Harare in 2024. More recently, the Eswatini government announced a R3 billion ($164m) investment commitment by Chivayo following a meeting with King Mswati III, who granted him Eswatini citizenship and a diplomatic passport. The investment is directed at a 300MW solar project to be developed on 120 hectares of land made available by the king.

Chivayo has stated publicly that his goal is to become a dollar-billionaire and that money "buys happiness." The Clifton address suggests he is moving purposefully in that direction.

A portfolio without borders

The scale of Chivayo's ambitions is difficult to overstate. Within a span of months, he has anchored assets in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Eswatini, moving across the continent with the confidence of a man who treats geography as opportunity.

Chivayo is the founder and managing director of Intratrek Zimbabwe, an engineering, procurement and construction company that has built a significant footprint in renewable energy and infrastructure development across Africa. In the 12 months preceding this purchase, he distributed over $9.3 million in gifts and vehicles to musicians, broadcasters and institutions across Zimbabwe, a pattern of generosity that has made him one of the most talked-about business figures in the region.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa described him in February 2025 as a "philanthropist."

The Clifton purchase adds a South African anchor to a real estate portfolio that has been expanding rapidly across the continent. With a Harare mansion, a Cape Town mountainside address designed by one of Africa's most celebrated architectural firms, and a Kone lift connecting four floors of French Oak and Murba wood above the Atlantic, Chivayo has made clear that his appetite for landmark property is not slowing down.