HARARE – Zimbabwe’s foreign minister and the face of a 2017 military coup that ousted Robert Mugabe as president has died aged 61, the government announced.
The former army general who had been battling a kidney ailment requiring regular dialysis died at a private hospital in Harare days after testing positive for Covid-19.
Cabinet spokesman George Charamba said in a statement: “President Emmerson Mnangagwa regrets to announce the passing on early this morning of Dr S.B. Moyo, our minister of foreign affairs and international trade.
“The late minister succumbed to Covid-19 at a local hospital.”
Moyo, who was married to Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission chairperson Loice Matanda-Moyo, is the third minister to die from the respiratory illness since July last year.
Lands and agriculture minister Perrance Shiri, a former Air Force of Zimbabwe commander who also became a minister following the coup, died in July last year. Ellen Gwaradzimba, who was the minister of provincial affairs for Manicaland died last week and is being buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare on Thursday.
The government announced on Tuesday that President Emmerson Mnangagwa would break his month-long annual leave to attend the burial of Gwaradzimba, which is being held at the same time as that of Moton Malianga, a liberation stalwart who also succumbed to Covid-19.
Zimbabwe has seen a spike in Covid-19 infections and deaths since the start of the year. On Tuesday, the ministry of health reported 52 deaths and 783 new infections.
The country has reported 28,675 Covid-19 cases to date which have resulted in 825 deaths.
After Mugabe was placed under house arrest, the military took control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, the state broadcaster. In the early hours of November 15, 2017, a man clad in camouflage appeared on TV screens.
Denying that a coup had taken place, then Major General Sibusiso Moyo declared that “the president… and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed”, and that the military were “only targeting criminals around [Mugabe] who are committing crimes… that are causing social and economic suffering in the country.”
Moyo went on to say that “as soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.”
On November 18, Moyo – speaking through a hand-held loudhailer – thanked Zimbabweans who marched to remove Mugabe after the veteran leader handed in his resignation under pressure. Zimbabweans eager to see Mugabe’s back after a ruinous 37-year rule gave Moyo the sobriquet “General Bae”.
Mnangagwa, who succeeded Mugabe, promoted Moyo to the rank of lieutenant general before naming him as his foreign minister on November 30.
Following disputed elections in 2018, during which six people were killed in a post-election massacre by the military, western diplomats who had warmed up to Mnangagwa turned on the regime. Moyo – tipped by some as a future leader – vainly battled to win back their goodwill.
