On May 5, 2026, businessman Wicknell Chivayo walked into the studios of Capitalk FM, finished a live on-air interview, and then handed out US$30,000 in cash, calling the money ‘lunch’ for the radio division’s 30 staff members. Each employee received US$1,000. Within hours, Zimpapers, the state-owned media company that owns the station, moved to enforce a strict gifts policy adopted in 2024. Under that policy, no employee may accept a gift worth more than US$100, and all gifts must be declared. The company told presenter Phathisani Sibanda, who was also offered a 2025 Toyota GD6 to replace his Toyota Aqua, to reject the vehicle or resign. Each of the 30 workers can keep only US$100 of the cash; the remaining US$27,000 is being retrieved.
The recovered money may either be returned directly to Chivayo or, as internal suggestions have it, donated to Zimpapers for the purchase of general-staff vehicles. A company executive stated that the policy was designed to ‘maintain editorial standards and remove any appearance of bribery.’ The 2024 policy was drafted after internal audits flagged a pattern of Chivayo giving journalists cars, electronics, and cash. In 2024, Chivayo had already donated a Toyota Aqua to Sibanda when Sibanda was an independent contractor. Sibanda became a full-time employee in January 2026.
A Policy Tested by a Powerful Patron
The enforcement has exposed deep contradictions inside Zimpapers. The company has not made any public statement about the incident. Capitalk FM went silent on the subject for two hours the following day, playing music instead of talk shows. Staff inside the newsroom describe a climate of fear: those who speak out risk losing their jobs, and those who accept gifts risk being branded corrupt. ‘This is not about integrity – it’s about control,’ a Zimpapers journalist said on condition of anonymity. ‘Management doesn’t want any staff member to have a personal relationship with Chivayo because that weakens its own monopoly on access.’
Critics note that Zimpapers has long been accused of acting as a propaganda arm of the ruling party, and that Chivayo’s influence has permeated the newsroom through years of lavish gifts. Media freedom activists are watching closely whether Zimpapers will enforce the policy consistently or treat this as a one-off public-relations move. The US$27,000 in disputed cash, if returned, would be a rare financial penalty for Chivayo, but the businessman is unlikely to feel the pinch. He has built a reputation for handing out cars and cash as casually as others give handshakes. The question now is whether the state media house will protect its editorial independence or allow a single private donor to hold sway over the news.
