HARARE – Popular fuel trader and socialite Genius Kadungure was killed in a fiery high-speed car crash early on Sunday.
He was 36.
Kadungure was returning home to Domboshava, just outside Harare, after celebrating a friend’s birthday at around 5AM when witnesses say his Rolls Royce had a head-on collision with a blue Honda Fit on Borrowdale Road.
The Rolls Royce careered off the road and smashed into a tree before catching fire. Kandungure was thrown off the vehicle and died at the scene along with three friends named as – Karim, Elisha and Moana, who was celebrating her birthday.
The driver and a passenger in the Honda Fit, which suffered damaged on the front right side, escaped with minor injuries.
Witness Danny Kuwanga, who was one of the first people at the scene, said Kadungure was speeding.
“It happened in front of my eyes. He was speeding. He first overtook me and as he tried to overtake a second vehicle, that’s when he crashed into the Honda Fit driving the opposite way,” Kuwanga said.
Kuwanga said he was joined by three other man and they pulled Kadungure away from the vehicle which was now a fireball.
“The girls didn’t make it out. They were just crying inside the burning car. We couldn’t do anything,” he added.
Police said the crash is under investigation.
In his final post on Instagram, where he had over 600,000 followers, Kadungure posted a video, declaring: “Guys it’s time to go out, it’s gonna be going down. We’re going to Dreams (nightclub) in the next few minutes, it’s gonna be going down. It’s Moana’s birthday, we’re going to pop champagne, it’s gonna be champagne showers tonight, see you there.”
As he gets into the vehicle, Kadungure tells his followers he’s “driving Rolls Royce Wraith.” The video cuts out as ‘Hello’ by Kabza de Small and DJ Mapholisa blasts from the US$500,000 motor.
The social media star and owner of Dreams nightclub, known for showing off his top-of-the-range sports cars and palatial home in Domboshava, was a cousin of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife, Mary Mubaiwa.
Over the last two years, Zimbabwean authorities have investigated Kadungure for tax evasion and smuggling of liquefied petroleum gas worth millions of dollars.
During the inquiry, police also seized a Bentley and then later a Ferrari after the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority said he underpaid duty. The Bentley is still with police.
