Who was Harpal Randhawa, Indian billionaire who died in the Zimbabwe plane crash?

Indian business tycoon Harpal Randhawa and his son Amer Randhawa were among the six people killed in the private plane crash in southwestern Zimbabwe on September 29, 2023. The news of his death was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chin’ono.

I am deeply saddened with the passing of Harpal Randhawa, the owner of Rio Zim who died today in a plane crash in Zvishavane.

5 other people including his son who was also a pilot, but a passenger on this flight also died in the crash.

I first met Harpal in 2017 through a… pic.twitter.com/A0AGOaR3sw

— Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) September 29, 2023

What happened?

• The private plane, a Cessna 206 aircraft, was owned by Randhawa’s company RioZim and they were en route to the Murowa diamond mine, which was also partly owned by the company.
• According to reports, the plane developed a technical fault as it approached its destination, leading to the fatal incident.
• According to Zimbabwe’s state-owned daily The Harare, the aircraft left Harare for Murowa diamond mine at 6 am and crashed around 6 km from the Mashawa.
• The RioZim company has said that it will release a full statement on this tragedy.

  Just In: A small plane belonging to RioZim flying from Harare to Murowa Diamonds plant has crashed in Zvimahande, Mashava, killing 6 people. pic.twitter.com/pVnOTulN5l

  — mmatigari (@matigary) September 29, 2023

Who was Harpal Randhawa?

• Randhawa was the owner of RimZim, a wholly owned Zimbabwean company that produces coal, gold, toll refine, nickel and copper.
• He was also the founder of GEM Holdings, the $4 billion private equity firm. It was founded by him in July 1993.
• Randhawa had completed his education from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in  England and Wales (ICAEW) and the University of London.
• He was also a partner at Sabre Capital Worldwide for 12 years and a senior advisor at a real estate firm Safanad for three years.
• His son, Amer Randhawa who died in the incident was also a trained pilot, but at the time of incident was inside the plane as a passenger.
• Journalist and filmmaker Hopewell Chin’ono said that he had met Harpal in 2017, and knew him since then. He added that though he was a wealthy man, he was very humble.
• Chin’ono added that he met several politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats through Randhawa and that the two shared a great bond
• Randhawa was also planning his next business venture, as per reports.

  Hint milyarder iş insanı Harpal Randhawa, Zimbabve'de meydana gelen uçak kazasında hayatını kaybetti. pic.twitter.com/i7JT4gZnjJ

  — tnc (@tnchaber) October 2, 2023

His funeral prayers which were earlier announced to be carried on October 4, 2023 have now been postponed as the Zimbabwe authorities are yet to complete their proceedings.