In
a
lengthy
statement
posted
online,
Chivayo
said
the
suggestion
was
“manufactured
controversy”
by
opposition
critics
and
“social
media
prosecutors”.
He
insisted
he
is
not
wanted
by
police
in
any
country.
“I
am
just
an
interesting
person…
not
a
person
of
interest,”
he
wrote.
“I
am
a
well-established
and
successful
businessman
of
unquestionable
integrity,
and
I
am
not
wanted
in
connection
with
any
criminal
offence,
whether
in
Zimbabwe,
South
Africa
or
any
other
jurisdiction
whatsoever.”
Chivayo
said
Interpol
had
confirmed
that
position
“on
several
occasions”.
He
added
that
he
was
posting
from
Cape
Town,
where
he
is
on
holiday
with
his
family,
and
that
he
travels
“openly
and
freely
through
normal
immigration
channels
without
the
slightest
difficulty”.
“If
I
were
indeed
some
person
of
interest
as
social
media
prosecutors
allege,
I
would
have
obviously
been
detained,
questioned,
indicted
or
subjected
to
some
form
of
official
process.
None
of
that
has
happened,”
he
said.
On
Wednesday,
Ramaphosa’s
spokesperson,
Vincent
Magwenya,
said
last
week
that
the
president
had
travelled
to
Zimbabwe
for
a
one-on-one
meeting
with
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
at
Mnangagwa’s
invitation.
Magwenya
said
Ramaphosa
did
not
know
who
else
would
be
at
the
meeting
and
“had
no
sense
of
who
he
was”
in
apparent
reference
to
Chivayo.
On
Thursday,
the
Minister
in
the
Presidency,
Khumbudzo
Ntshavheni,
also
said
any
other
guests
were
Mnangagwa’s.
Chivayo
said
it
was
“astonishing”
that
people
believed
businessmen
at
the
visit
“simply
emerged
from
nowhere”,
arguing
that
VVIP
security
protocols
require
“extensive
vetting”
before
anyone
gets
close
to
a
sitting
head
of
state.
“I
was
deeply
honoured
and
privileged
to
have
been
part
of
the
delegation
that
welcomed
President
Ramaphosa,”
he
said.
He
urged
“South
African
Twitter
detectives”
to
focus
on
xenophobic
attacks,
armed
robberies
and
kidnappings,
saying
rich
people
in
South
Africa
“have
to
move
around
with
15
heavily
armed
and
special
forces
trained
bodyguards
in
fear
for
our
lives”.
Chivayo
said
there
was
“apparent
confusion”
between
him
and
his
younger
brother,
Joachim
Chivayo,
also
known
as
G6.
Joachim
was
declared
wanted
by
South
Africa’s
Hawks
in
February
2026
in
connection
with
an
illegal
gold
dealing
case
worth
about
R15
million.
He
was
arrested
in
late
2024
after
being
found
with
six
bars
of
unwrought
gold,
but
later
skipped
bail
and
fled
to
Zimbabwe.
“Joacham
is
my
little
brother,
whom
I
love
and
hold
with
the
highest
respect,”
Wicknell
said.
“However,
I
cannot
meaningfully
comment
on
matters
relating
to
his
private
affairs
or
any
allegations
that
may
have
circulated
online
regarding
his
business
dealings
in
South
Africa.”
He
added
that
“any
accused
person
is
presumed
innocent
until
proven
guilty
otherwise
by
a
competent
court
of
law
and
not
on
social
media”.
South
African
authorities
have
not
named
Chivayo
by
name
in
any
official
statement
related
to
Ramaphosa’s
Zimbabwe
visit.