UFIC founder Emmanuel Makandiwa has issued a controversial condolence message following the helicopter crash that killed businessman Wicknell Chivayo alleging in it that Chivayo and his wife knew their time to die was near.

Chivayo died with his wife and 4 others in Marondera on Wednesday.

In a statement released on UFI Church letterhead, Makandiwa said he was extending condolence to the families of Mr and Mrs Chivayo and to the families of the special crew on board that did not make it home alive, and to the Johane Masowe church and its Leaders.

However, he went on to explain that the couple had knowledge about their demise.

“What is important to note, for those that care, is that the couple knew their time to be taken.

“(They) desired for that time to be while they were at their best.

“Their giving and helping people was to be completed on time, hence they were in a rush to give and indeed SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST,” the statement reads.

“You don’t honour your Leaders and share your wealth with people at that magnitude and depart without a clear knowledge.

“The departure should be at your best time but unfortunately, the time may not be the best for those you leave behind.”

Makandiwa did not elaborate on how the couple “knew” their time, nor did he link it to any occult or ritual practice.

He framed it in Christian terms, citing Revelation 14:13: “blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for they rest from their labour and their works follow them.”

“None of man’s work goes to waste.

“Rather the work always follows the man even in the world to come,” he wrote.

The line about knowing their time has sparked wide debate on Zimbabwean social media, with some users reading it as a spiritual revelation.

Meanwhile, to others it has been taken as a implicit revelation of Chivayo’s use of voodoo.

This has also drawn parallels with another socialite, the late Ginimbi, who also died in a controversial manner.

Ginimbi, like Chivayo was a monied celebrity whose business trail wasn’t clear leading to speculations of using voodoo.