Zim chef wrongly dragged into businessman’s viral scandal

A Zimbabwean chef living and working in Norway has spoken out after he was wrongly linked to a viral Sandton restaurant video involving a businessman who shares his name.

The chef, Lawrence Mudzinganyama, said social media users had mistaken him for Lawrence Chamurwa Mudzinganyama, the Zimbabwean businessman at the centre of the controversy.

Chef Lawrence Mudzinganyama denies being the man in viral video

In a video posted online, the chef explained that he had been surprised to discover that his name was trending on X, Facebook and Instagram in connection with the Sandton incident.

“Apparently I am trending on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram that I was insulting women in Sandton,” he said.

The chef said he was in Norway at the time and works on cruise ships.

“I am actually surprised that I own a big company in Joburg and all of that nonsense,” he said, referring to claims being circulated online about the businessman.

‘I am just a regular citizen’

The chef went on to make it clear that he was not the man seen in the viral video.

“I am not Lawrence Chamurwa Mudzinganyama. I am Lawrence Mudzinganyama, they are two different people,” he explained.

He also said he does not own a company and described himself simply as “a regular citizen” and “a chef”.

His appeal was directed at social media users who had shared his photographs alongside posts about the controversy.

“So please delete your post and look for the right person,” he said.

The confusion comes as the other Lawrence Mudzinganyama faces mounting scrutiny after footage from a Sandton restaurant went viral.

A case of intimidation has been opened against the businessman after he was allegedly filmed threatening women who rejected his advances. He has since apologised for his conduct and said he would seek professional guidance.

The businessman has also faced consequences in his professional life, with Moriel Infrastructure Group announcing that it had terminated its association with him as executive chairman and director.

For the Zimbabwean chef, however, the controversy has become an unexpected case of mistaken identity, forcing him to publicly explain that the man at the centre of the Sandton scandal is someone else who happens to share his name.