Zimbabwe: Ministers Demand Thousands From Wicknell’s Estate

• Controversial Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo was paying protection fees to various Zimbabwe government officials.

• This was revealed by Zimbabwean billionaire Kuda Tagwirei during his address.

• Various ministers/officials indicated Wicknell owed them money:

  • Kazembe Kazembe

  • Tatenda Mavetera

  • Tino Machakaire

  • Lawyers

  • Church leaders

• This forced Wicknell to approach Tagwirei to set up a fund to pay protection fees so both would not be exploited.

• Wicknell moved his base to Tanzania.

  • He now lives there and flies back to Zimbabwe for prayers.

Soldiers Deployed to Soweto

• Soldiers were sent into Soweto on 8 October 2026, continuing into today.

• They were backing up police after protests over immigration and asylum rules turned violent.

• Residents in Orlando West marched against:

  • A Constitutional Court judgment.

  • A follow-up Home Affairs directive that made it easier for people to pursue asylum applications.

• The demonstration escalated into clashes with foreign nationals, mainly shop owners.

• Accounts from the scene say shots were fired toward residents.

• In response:

  • Roughly 10 vehicles were set alight.

  • Shops were attacked or looted.

  • Several people were injured.

• Police said the situation was later brought under control.

  • Public-order units were reinforced.

  • SANDF was deployed to patrol and prevent further spread.

• Parallel violence the same day in Durban:

  • About 14 more vehicles burned.

• Acting National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane said:

  • Concerns could be raised lawfully.

  • Violence and destruction of property would not be tolerated.

• Government spokespeople linked the flare-up partly to false claims circulating about the court ruling.

• The deployment is part of a broader pattern of anti-migrant unrest in several areas this year.

Soweto vs Durban Response

• Unrest occurred in both places.

• Durban was at least as destructive on the numbers police gave.

• Dimpane said:

  • About 10 vehicles burned in Soweto.

  • About 14 vehicles burned in Durban.

  • A lodge and warehouse were also partly burned in Durban.

  • Three foreign nationals were arrested in Durban.

• Shops were looted or attacked in both cities.

• Reporting shows a difference in who was sent, not that Durban was ignored.

• Soweto:

  • Soldiers were photographed patrolling after the clashes.

• Durban:

  • Police said they mobilised extra officers and public-order units.

  • Rubber bullets were used to disperse crowds.

  • Arrests were made.

  • No contemporaneous reports describe SANDF troops on the ground in Durban for this specific outbreak.

• Authorities have not given a public explanation for the difference.

• Domestic army deployment is not automatic.

  • It is authorised to assist police when local commanders request it and resources allow.

• Police framed Durban as something SAPS public-order units were handling.

• Soweto drew a visible military presence after reports of gunfire between residents and shop owners in a township.

• SANDF is already stretched by Operation Prosper crime deployments and has acknowledged vehicle shortages.

  • It is not sent to every flashpoint.

• June 2026:

  • During an earlier wave of the same anti-migrant protests, soldiers were sent to both Hillbrow and Durban when authorities judged police needed backup.

• This time:

  • Visible military response reported in Soweto.

  • Durban left to reinforced police.

Key Events for Today

• The late businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy Muteke were buried in coffins on Thursday at Glen Forest Cemetery in Harare.

• Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Hon. Barbara Rwodzi addressed participants of Zimbabwe National Defence University’s National Defence Course 15/2026.

  • Theme: “Preservation and State Identity: The Adoption of a Heritage-Based Tourism Cluster Approach to Foster National Identity and Prevent Cultural Erosion.”

  • Participants drawn from Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

  • Sites cited: Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, and the Eastern Highlands.

  • Identity expressions cited: cultural festivals, Mbira, National Fabric, Township Tourism, Gastronomy Tourism.

  • Indigenous products cited: Mapfura wine, Matamba, and Mawuyu juices.

  • Stats: 6.4 million domestic tourism trips in H1 2026.

  • Tourism receipts up 6%.

  • Investment up 229%.

Top Trending

• Home Affairs data showing…

• Africa: South African military has been deployed in Soweto.

• Business: The Jaguaperformance and a combined range exceeding 1,000 km.

  • Price: R914,900.

• Bloggers:

  • Location:

  • Notes:

Timeline of Events

• 2025/26 period:

  • Home Affairs data records 3,994 asylum applications processed.

  • 1,934 approved.

• July 7, 2026:

  • Constitutional Court hands down a binding judgment in the Scalinabri of Cape Town matter regarding asylum access.

• Post-July 7, 2026:

  • Home Affairs issues directives instructing officials to accept asylum applications from undocumented people under certain circumstances.

  • This leads to current scrutiny.

• Recent days/current:

  • Hundreds of foreign nationals gather outside the Durban Refugee Reception Centre.

  • Increased police presence and tensions with local residents.

Peter Matsimbe and Ayanda Thabethe

• As of 8–9 October 2026:

  • South African media are reporting unconfirmed rumours of trouble in the marriage of media personality Ayanda Thabethe and businessman Peter Matsimbe.

  • Neither has publicly commented.

Background

• Began dating around May 2021.

• Two sons:

  • Peter Junior, born March 2022.

  • Enzo, born September 2023.

• Engaged December 2024.

• Private signing ceremony held 29 June 2025 in Johannesburg.

• Matsimbe:

  • Low public profile.

  • Works in trucking.

  • Previously linked in media reports to a 2019 Standard Bank dispute over luxury-car financing.

• Thabethe:

  • Former Top Billing and BET A-List host.

  • Entrepreneur.

  • Earlier denied claims that he was already married when they met, via a lawyers’ statement in 2022.

• 21 September 2026:

  • She posted a maternity shoot and gender-reveal cake confirming they are expecting a daughter—their third child together.

What Sparked the Split Rumours

• Reports in early October 2026, largely based on claims first circulated by an X user, cite several signs:

  • Thabethe has dropped “Matsimbe” from her social-media profiles.

    • Now appears simply as “Ayanda Thabethe (MBA)” with about 2.2 million Instagram followers.

  • She is said to have left their multimillion-rand Bryanston home.

    • Staying with her sister, actress Lungile Thabethe, for much of the pregnancy.

  • A blue 2024 Rolls-Royce Cullinan he reportedly gifted her has been listed for sale at nearly R15 million.

    • Around R14.999 million, low mileage.

  • Their five-bedroom Bryanston house has reportedly been placed on the market and is under offer.

    • Described as below an estimated value of over R24 million.

Constitutional Court Ruling

• Judgment handed down July 7, 2026, in the Scalinabri of Cape Town matter.

• Widened access to the asylum process for undocumented foreign nationals under certain circumstances.

• Crucially:

  • The ruling provides a pathway to apply for asylum.

  • It does not grant blanket legalisation, refugee status, or an open-door policy.

What the Judgment Means

• Access, not approval:

  • Undocumented individuals can enter the asylum system.

  • Claims are not automatically accepted.

  • Applicants must still go through the full statutory process, including:

    • Biometric capturing.

    • Database cross-referencing.

    • Country-of-origin assessments.

• Temporary legal status during processing:

  • While claims are processed, undocumented people may obtain temporary legal status and remain in the country.

  • This has raised concerns about labour-market strain and the length of appeals.

• Government obligation:

  • Home Affairs is constitutionally obliged to implement the judgment.

  • It has issued directives instructing officials to accept asylum applications from undocumented people under defined circumstances.

  • The department stresses the directive is solely to give effect to the ruling, not to create an open-door policy.

• Safeguards required:

  • Biometric identification.

  • Tighter determination timelines.

  • Mechanisms to distinguish genuine refugees from economic migrants.

  • Critics argue the state currently lacks capacity to enforce these effectively.

Durban Refugee Reception Centre Unrest

• Unrest localized to Durban Refugee Reception Centre:

  • Protests, harassment, and forced shutdown.

  • Not widespread rioting or looting.

• 6 October:

  • About 15 anti-immigrant vigilantes, some masked and armed with sticks/knobkerries, harassed asylum seekers in the queue.

  • They pushed them and shouted xenophobic insults.

• 7 October:

  • Larger protest group, including “March and March,” blocked the centre entrance.

  • Thousands of asylum seekers dispersed.

  • Applications halted.

  • Heavy police deployment.

  • Road closed.

  • Shielded officers faced a crowd carrying sjamboks, knobkerries, and sticks.

  • Nearby businesses closed.

• Nationwide Home Affairs shutdown called for 23 October 2026 by “Phakel’umthakathi.”

• Durban anti-immigration protesters vowed to return if foreign nationals are present.

  • Protests there are likely to continue.