Yesha
Senior Member
- Jan 28, 2026
- 183
- 97
HARARE – Top lawyer Lewis Uriri, who on Monday rejected a US$350,000 gift from businessman Wicknell Chivayo, previously accepted a vehicle from the flamboyant businessman, according to videos circulated on Tuesday.
The videos posted on social media by pro-Chivayo accounts showed Uriri driving away in a Land Rover Discovery reportedly bought for him from Pan Jap Motors in Harare for $110,000.
The footage is believed to have been recorded in late 2023 or early 2024. Uriri said on Monday that he last spoke to Chivayo, his former client, in June 2024.
The revelations came a day after Uriri rejected a new Range Rover Sport Autobiography, reportedly worth US$250,000, together with US$100,000 for him and his wife.
“Your announcement came as a complete surprise, without prior notice or discussion,” Uriri wrote to Chivayo on X. “Given the distance that has developed between us since our last conversation, the substantial nature of the gifts, and their express connection to past professional services, I must approach this gesture with particular care.”
He said he considered it necessary to reject benefits that could create “a perception of personal financial obligation extending beyond a concluded and fully remunerated professional engagement.”
“My wife and I attach great importance to preserving both our professional standing and public confidence in our independence,” he wrote.
“We appreciate the generosity expressed and your acknowledgment of my past work. Our decision is nevertheless firm: we will not accept the vehicle or either of the cash gifts.”
Uriri’s decision was widely praised by fellow lawyers and other public figures.
“His example reminds us that professional independence is not an abstract ideal. It is tested precisely when accepting would be easier than refusing,” Advocate Thabani Mpofu said.
Lawyer and politician Job Sikhala wrote on X: “Advocate Lewis Uriri just refused freebies tossed around for no service as if he and his wife are charity cases. That’s the integrity people are celebrating.”
Uriri is part of a legal team preparing to challenge constitutional amendments that extended President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure to 2030, two years more than his second and final term was due to end.
The changes, signed into law by Mnangagwa in July, also scrapped direct presidential elections in favour of parliament electing the president, while altering the constitutional succession framework governing what happens when a president dies or is unable to perform his functions.
Chivayo’s latest gifts were announced on the eve of Constitutional Court hearings in a case brought by six war veterans challenging Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.3).
Uriri is part of a legal team with Professor Lovemore Madhuku representing the war veterans.
The timing of the gifts has prompted speculation on social media about Chivayo’s motives, with some suggesting the offer was intended to compromise Uriri or persuade him to withdraw from the case. There is no evidence presented publicly establishing that this was Chivayo’s intention.
On Tuesday, Chivayo’s supporters responded by circulating the older videos and photographs involving Uriri.
They claimed that Uriri had previously accepted the Land Rover and had also travelled abroad with his wife on a first-class holiday paid for by Chivayo.
An Instagram post attributed to Uriri and apparently made at the time read: “Some clients are Heaven sent! Got this for my 45th birthday.”
One Chivayo supporter questioned why Uriri’s concerns about professional independence had not prevented him from accepting the earlier vehicle.
“After accepting the vehicle, he continued doing his professional work. Was he captured? NO. Was his independence compromised? NO. He continued carrying out his professional duties without the gift determining how he did his job.
“Fast-forward to 2026, another proposed gift brings explanations about integrity, professional independence, public confidence and the perception of obligation. So where were all these concerns (in 2024) then?”
ZimLive has approached Uriri for comment on the claims about the vehicle, holiday and the circumstances surrounding the earlier gifts.
Mpofu, who has continued to praise Uriri over his decision to reject the latest offer, said the lawyer’s past should not detract from Monday’s decision.
“Let’s assume Lewis has erred in the past. So what? If you wish; if you have the time, energy, and inclination; you can revisit his past and evaluate it for yourself. That is your prerogative. We won’t stop you,” Mpofu said.
“Today, however, we honour a once-in-a-lifetime decision: a correct decision, grounded in integrity and principle. That is what concerns us. We are entitled to celebrate him because today only one person had to make this decision and he made it.”
~ZimLive
The videos posted on social media by pro-Chivayo accounts showed Uriri driving away in a Land Rover Discovery reportedly bought for him from Pan Jap Motors in Harare for $110,000.
The footage is believed to have been recorded in late 2023 or early 2024. Uriri said on Monday that he last spoke to Chivayo, his former client, in June 2024.
The revelations came a day after Uriri rejected a new Range Rover Sport Autobiography, reportedly worth US$250,000, together with US$100,000 for him and his wife.
“Your announcement came as a complete surprise, without prior notice or discussion,” Uriri wrote to Chivayo on X. “Given the distance that has developed between us since our last conversation, the substantial nature of the gifts, and their express connection to past professional services, I must approach this gesture with particular care.”
He said he considered it necessary to reject benefits that could create “a perception of personal financial obligation extending beyond a concluded and fully remunerated professional engagement.”
“My wife and I attach great importance to preserving both our professional standing and public confidence in our independence,” he wrote.
“We appreciate the generosity expressed and your acknowledgment of my past work. Our decision is nevertheless firm: we will not accept the vehicle or either of the cash gifts.”
Uriri’s decision was widely praised by fellow lawyers and other public figures.
“His example reminds us that professional independence is not an abstract ideal. It is tested precisely when accepting would be easier than refusing,” Advocate Thabani Mpofu said.
Lawyer and politician Job Sikhala wrote on X: “Advocate Lewis Uriri just refused freebies tossed around for no service as if he and his wife are charity cases. That’s the integrity people are celebrating.”
Uriri is part of a legal team preparing to challenge constitutional amendments that extended President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure to 2030, two years more than his second and final term was due to end.
The changes, signed into law by Mnangagwa in July, also scrapped direct presidential elections in favour of parliament electing the president, while altering the constitutional succession framework governing what happens when a president dies or is unable to perform his functions.
Chivayo’s latest gifts were announced on the eve of Constitutional Court hearings in a case brought by six war veterans challenging Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.3).
Uriri is part of a legal team with Professor Lovemore Madhuku representing the war veterans.
The timing of the gifts has prompted speculation on social media about Chivayo’s motives, with some suggesting the offer was intended to compromise Uriri or persuade him to withdraw from the case. There is no evidence presented publicly establishing that this was Chivayo’s intention.
On Tuesday, Chivayo’s supporters responded by circulating the older videos and photographs involving Uriri.
They claimed that Uriri had previously accepted the Land Rover and had also travelled abroad with his wife on a first-class holiday paid for by Chivayo.
An Instagram post attributed to Uriri and apparently made at the time read: “Some clients are Heaven sent! Got this for my 45th birthday.”
One Chivayo supporter questioned why Uriri’s concerns about professional independence had not prevented him from accepting the earlier vehicle.
“After accepting the vehicle, he continued doing his professional work. Was he captured? NO. Was his independence compromised? NO. He continued carrying out his professional duties without the gift determining how he did his job.
“Fast-forward to 2026, another proposed gift brings explanations about integrity, professional independence, public confidence and the perception of obligation. So where were all these concerns (in 2024) then?”
ZimLive has approached Uriri for comment on the claims about the vehicle, holiday and the circumstances surrounding the earlier gifts.
Mpofu, who has continued to praise Uriri over his decision to reject the latest offer, said the lawyer’s past should not detract from Monday’s decision.
“Let’s assume Lewis has erred in the past. So what? If you wish; if you have the time, energy, and inclination; you can revisit his past and evaluate it for yourself. That is your prerogative. We won’t stop you,” Mpofu said.
“Today, however, we honour a once-in-a-lifetime decision: a correct decision, grounded in integrity and principle. That is what concerns us. We are entitled to celebrate him because today only one person had to make this decision and he made it.”
~ZimLive