Harare - His father-in-law - ousted president Robert Mugabe was vocal in denouncing Zimbabweans performing menial jobs in foreign countries...
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Harare - His father-in-law - ousted president Robert Mugabe was vocal in denouncing Zimbabweans performing menial jobs in foreign countries, after fleeing the country due to his questionable leadership style.
But now his son-in-law - Simba Chikore, who describes his past as humble - adding that he is a simple young Zimbabwean man” - also struggled to finance his own education in the US by doing menial jobs.
While pursuing an aviation course in 1997, Simba resorted to fending for himself.
“While at university, this was the time that things changed in Zimbabwe. It was the time that war veterans started to demand money and so on and so forth, the Zimbabwe dollar was falling against the American dollar.
“I got to a point where I had nothing. So I started to work, I applied to the immigration department for permission to work off campus
“I worked at MacDonald’s. I started working in hotels, cleaning toilets, carrying people’s bags, being a handyman. I worked in industries carrying heavy things like cement, detergents,” said Chikore.
After acquiring his degree, Simba says he worked for various airline companies, including Air Zimbabwe and Qatar Airways, before eventually going back to Air Zim where he worked as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) before his resignation after his father in law Mugabe’s ouster.
Chikore’s appointment at Air Zimbabwe stirred controversy two years ago as many believed it was nepotism and he did not have the necessary qualifications for the job. Simba was also accused of being part of the Mugabes’ dynasty whose ambitions were to privatize the state.
But Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo denied the rumors citing that Chikore’s credentials “actually surpassed the required qualifications”.
While pursuing an aviation course in 1997, Simba resorted to fending for himself.
“While at university, this was the time that things changed in Zimbabwe. It was the time that war veterans started to demand money and so on and so forth, the Zimbabwe dollar was falling against the American dollar.
“I got to a point where I had nothing. So I started to work, I applied to the immigration department for permission to work off campus
“I worked at MacDonald’s. I started working in hotels, cleaning toilets, carrying people’s bags, being a handyman. I worked in industries carrying heavy things like cement, detergents,” said Chikore.
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| Simba and Bona Chikore |
After acquiring his degree, Simba says he worked for various airline companies, including Air Zimbabwe and Qatar Airways, before eventually going back to Air Zim where he worked as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) before his resignation after his father in law Mugabe’s ouster.
Chikore’s appointment at Air Zimbabwe stirred controversy two years ago as many believed it was nepotism and he did not have the necessary qualifications for the job. Simba was also accused of being part of the Mugabes’ dynasty whose ambitions were to privatize the state.
But Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo denied the rumors citing that Chikore’s credentials “actually surpassed the required qualifications”.
Simba Chikore, married to Mugabe’s daughter Bona in 2014. He is the son of pastors Sherman Chikore and Christine Chikore and is the third born in a family of four boys and a girl.
Chikore grew up in Kambuzuma and comes from the Chikore area in Rusape where his uncle Dennis Chikore is the chief. According to congregants interviewed by a local publication, Chikore and his siblings formed a musical outfit called 101 Harare Drive that sang brilliantly in church from an early stage in their lives where he played the keyboard.
Chikore attended Marlborough Primary School for his primary education where he excelled in sports mainly athletics, soccer and swimming. He then enrolled at St John’s College in Emerald Hill where he also excelled in sports during his six years of secondary education.
Chikore studied sciences at Advanced Level and was the head boy when he completed his studies in 1996 before he moved to the United States for further studies. He attended but did not graduate school at Saint Louis University in St. Louis MO, USA.
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