New financial disclosures have reignited public interest in the controversial ZEC tender saga, as leaked records from South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) suggest a direct link between businessman Wicknell Chivayo and Maxine Branson, wife of prominent religious leader Prophet Edd Branson.
The records indicate that approximately R1 million was funneled to Christian by Hadassah, a cosmetics brand owned by Maxine Branson, between April 2023 and May 2024. The timing of these transfers is under particular scrutiny, as they reportedly occurred shortly after Chivayo received substantial payouts from Zimbabwe’s national treasury for the supply of election materials.
Intimate Chats or Business Deals?
This financial revelation follows a massive social media storm in July 2024, when hacked private messages allegedly exposed an intimate relationship between Chivayo and Maxine. The leaked screenshots featured romantic exchanges and discussions regarding the gifting of luxury vehicles, which were allegedly to be framed as “spiritual donations.”
At the time, both parties dismissed the leaks as fraudulent.
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Maxine Branson maintained the images were digitally manipulated and insisted their relationship was strictly platonic.
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Wicknell Chivayo apologized for the breach but denied the romantic nature of the messages.
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Prophet Edd Branson defended his wife, famously claiming that his prophetic “spiritual foresight” would have alerted him to any infidelity in his marriage.
Following the Paper Trail
Despite the denials, the FIC report provides a more concrete, document-based challenge to their narrative. Investigators are currently tracing the movement of funds from Ren-Form CC—the South African firm central to the ZEC tender—to determine how public funds were distributed.
The R1 million payment to a cosmetic business has raised eyebrows among anti-corruption advocates, who question why money meant for electoral logistics would find its way into a private beauty brand’s coffers.
The scandal has sparked a heated national debate regarding the “unholy alliance” between Zimbabwe’s business elite, political tender processes, and influential religious figures. While neither the Bransons nor Chivayo have issued a fresh statement regarding the specific FIC findings, the paper trail continues to mount as authorities look deeper into the ZEC tender expenditures.
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