Royal Estate: Wicknell and Lulu Chivayo To Be Laid To Rest At Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park By Fanuel Viriri Aptly named the Royal Estate – the late businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lulu Chivayo will be laid to rest in this section of Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park Thursday afternoon (8 October 2026). […]

Royal Estate: Wicknell and Lulu Chivayo To Be Laid To Rest At Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park

By Fanuel Viriri

Aptly named the Royal Estate – the late businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lulu Chivayo will be laid to rest in this section of Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park Thursday afternoon (8 October 2026).

The couple will be buried side-by-side at the memorial park’s Royal Estate, a special section reserved for the rich and famous, in a burial that befits the flamboyant life the businessman lived.

According to the funeral programme for Thursday 8 October, coffins will go into the flower house at 08:00, followed by speeches and prayers at 09:00 and early lunch at 11:00.

Departure to Sahwira Glen Forest is at 12:00, arrival at 13:00, burial at 14:00, vote of thanks at 15:00, prayers at 15:30 and departure from Sahwira Glen Forest at 17:00. Graves at the Royal Estate start at US$4,000 for double units.

Acquired by Nyaradzo Funeral Group in May 2026, the cemetery has undergone major transformation to make it more than just a sombre and creepy scary place associated with most graveyards.

Formerly known as Glen Forest Memorial Park, the site was established in 2002 on Matidoda Farm and later expanded to include adjoining Chikomo Chemhute Farm.

It now spans about 84 hectares on the northern edge of Harare, where trees grow thick and city noise fades, and currently holds about 10,000 burials. Nyaradzo Life Assurance acquired it from Candrina Investments in May 2026 and rebranded it to Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park, with Sahwira meaning the trusted friend who walks with you in your darkest moment.

Under Nyaradzo, the park is being reimagined as more than a resting place. It is being developed as a memorial destination for the living as much as for those who have departed. Planned enhancements include a modern chapel, restaurant, crematorium, reflection garden, children’s play centre, running tracks and a fitness centre, as well as a digital memorial wall that allows families to preserve memories in a contemporary way and office facilities that let visitors attend to work without leaving the park.

The philosophy is that grief is not a single moment but a long road, and the spaces built must honour the full length of that journey.
Grave plots are available for advance reservation for individuals, families, corporates and community groups. The park also links to Nyaradzo’s Sahwira International Plan, which covers death and repatriation for Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, the United States and Canada, allowing those living abroad to secure a dignified final resting place back home.

It is this vision of dignity, peace, remembrance and legacy that makes the park a fitting address for Wicknell and Lulu.

Wicknell Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteke-Chivayo, known as Lulu, and three others perished in a helicopter crash near Marondera on September 30, 2026.

The flamboyant businessman and philanthropist, known for his extravagant lifestyle and large-scale giving of cars, houses and support to families and communities, was travelling with his wife when the helicopter went down.

The burial at Sahwira Glen Forest Memorial Park gives powerful meaning to its new identity as a place where lives are honoured, memories are preserved and legacies are given a permanent home.