Prominent Zimbabwean journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, has said that Starlink refused to work with IMC , a company formed by the politically connected Wicknell Chivhayo, specifically to distribute Starlink services in Zimbabwe.
Posting on X, Chin’ono said Starlink refused to be a 50% partner in a local company that would distribute the internet service locally. The proposal was that IMC would get 40% and Zimbabwe’s sovereign fund, Mutapa, would have 10%.
Said Chin’ono:
There was a meeting this week in Harare involving DHL, a law firm representing Starlink, the secret service, the defence ministry, and ZIMRA regarding Starlink, according to my sources at Starlink.
Starlink was supposed to dispatch the first 1,500 test kits from America to Harare this week, but they were informed that POTRAZ needed to sign off first, which has now been done. POTRAZ will also inspect and verify the kits upon their arrival in Harare.
Starlink resisted a proposal for a 50% stake, with Wicknell Chivayo’s IMC receiving 40% and the controversial Mutapa Fund getting 10%.
My Starlink source told me this morning that they rejected the deal because the other parties were not bringing anything to the table except political capital.
Starlink has however managed to go live in Zimbabwe today. It’s not clear how the company is distributing its kits in Zimbabwe since the telecoms regulator, Potraz, is yet to announce Starlink’s licensing. When Techzim checked with Potraz a little over a week ago, the regulator maintained that Starlink had still not been licensed to operate in Zimbabwe.
Some days ago however, Frampol, a local ICT company announced that it had secured Authorised Reseller status with Starlink.
Chin’ono’s revelation about Starlink’s refusal to work with IMC largely agrees with information provided by Techzim sources on the matter in July. Around that time, we wrote:
From what we hear here at Techzim, Starlink don’t want anything to do with IMC. So no “finishing of signing” is about to happen. In fact, sources tell us the IMC is busy finding workarounds to this door that’s been shut in their face.
About IMC
IMC was unknown in Zimbabwe until the president, Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that it was the “sole and exclusive” Starlink partner in Zimbabwe. He also said he had approved the licensing of Starlink by Potraz.
The assumption, after the president made that announcement, was that IMC had already secured the Authorised Reseller status with Starlink. It turned out IMC didn’t even exist yet, Starlink didn’t want to work with IMC, and that POTRAZ itself had not approved any Starlink arrangement yet.
Potraz later announced that no company has the exclusive right to offer Starlink services in Zimbabwe, putting to rest the claim that IMC was “sole and exclusive local partner”.
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18 comments
Bruh I will make sure this blog is closed for mocking me
It was obvious Starlink wiuld never work with politically tainted individuals like chivhayo. Its US policy that they are complying with. I wonder how chivayo never saw it coming. There will never be back door deals with American companies.
Hell yes!!! Well done starlink!! Wicknell is a fraud and a crook!! It’s about time his actions had consequences!!
Yah!! Ngamame!!
He defrauded an entire country !! Instead of putting solar farms to benefit then! He ate those moneys!!
It’s time the crows came home to roost!!
Am soo!! happy at least 1 of the corrupt people in power is actually being held accountable!!
If only it happened to more and more zanu puppets!!
Aah Zimbabwe would be a better place!!
Accountability must be had!! And enforced!!
I smell a Choppies Mboko deal whereby the anointed get free shares
Wicknell is very dull and loud.
He should’ve just kept his mouth shut and today he would be creaming it.
He goes around broadcasting that he’s involved when he knows he’s politsclly tainted… because of the same loud mouth he can’t control. Killed IMC before birth.
Techzim has really fallen. Now Hopewell is a source.
I feel sorry for Danny Marandure for leaving his great position at Liquid Africa for IMC ,he did not see this coming.His a laughing stock now😄😄😄😄 results of kuda mari too much
Wicknell should install a solar plant in Gwanda first before he can join internet infrastructure
Thank you for clarifying this. Now that it has been confirmed that IMC will not be partnering Starlink, I am very tempted to subscribe to the service. After purchasing the hardware, the subscriptions are reasonably affordable. I however will wait patiently to see what Eutelsat has to offer. Had I rushed and bought the Starlink roaming kit from the black market, now I would really be regretting having spent so much money. I’m in no rush and can afford to wait.
May the best internet service provider win! 🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁
Starlink have dignity
In what world did Wicknell and co thought they could actually swindle Starlink and Elon Musk.
No way would Starlink have agreed to work a non existent company which was rushing designed to milk it’s customers.
Elon is not a fool.He wasn’t gonna agree to such bogus deals.
Chivhayo complete Gwanda solar project first
I don’t trust this guy
Things take time,IMC will eventually get the deal
Kufarira starlink usina Zesa 😆😆😆😆
This bloated bombastic self opinionated Teletubby is not to be trusted!
Zimbabwe is an active crime scene. Register the names of everyone active in ZANU PF and satellites to save us time when we start hanging these bstards.
Amen mukoma!!
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