Another 2017 ‘Coup General’ falls

• SB Moyo death shocks nation
• Comes months after Perrance Shiri’s demise
• Terrified First Lady calls for fasting, prayer

By Kundai Marunya
His journey in the public eye began around 4am on November 15, 2017 when he, together with a fellow military man, Air Vice Marshal Shebba Brighton Shumbayaonda, made an unprecedented announcement on ZBC-TV and on radio that the military had taken over Government.

This came after the army had taken over the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation the night before.

He denied any talk of a coup, stating that the then President Robert Mugabe “… 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”.

The message was repeated every 15 minutes punctuated by Chimurenga songs.

Prior to the announcement and others that followed, ushering Zimbabwe into a “new political dispensation” under President Mnangagwa, the late Lieutenant-General (Rtd) Sibusiso Busi Moyo was little known to the general public, but a respected giant to the men and women in uniform.
During the 2017 coup, which was dubbed Operation Restore Legacy, Lt-General Moyo’s youthful looks earned him the nickname “General Bae”.

It was, however, the bravery to be the face of a “revolution”, then viewed as emancipation from close to four decades of Mugabe’s (mis)rule, that earned him the affection of the populace across the political divide.
Just over three years after he rose to fame, the nation has been plunged into mourning, left shaken, probably much more than any other Government official who succumbed to Covid-19.

Another military man who was instrumental in the toppling of the late former president RG Mugabe, Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri, also succumbed to Covid-19 in July 2020.

President Mnangagwa issued a statement in record time while his wife immediately called the nation to prayer as Covid-19 increasingly hits much closer to home.

Although Zimbabweans were generally divided over Dr Moyo’s death, which occurred Wednesday morning at a hospital in the capital, he was undoubtedly a popular figure.

Even opposition heavyweight Nelson Chamisa mourned the death of Dr Moyo.
But behind the military uniform and later the suits; who really was SB Moyo?

Family
Dr Moyo was born in 1960 at Munene Mission hospital in Mberengwa to Cephas John Moyo (father) and Cathrine Moyo (mother).
He was a third child in a family of six.

“Sibusiso mwana wangu. Chakazvarwa chakangosimba, chakangonaka-naka,” said his father in recent reports.

“He had a unique character during his childhood. He is the third born, but he would say he was older than his sisters born before him.”
Moyo is survived by wife Loyce Matanda-Moyo and several children.

Early life
Moyo attained his primary education at Masvingo Primary School, and went on to do his secondary education at Munene Secondary School.

“He would strive to be the best at whatever he did and even at school his teachers were always saying ‘your child is very intelligent’. I realised from the beginning that he had leadership qualities. He was a quiet person, but if you engage him on something he was very articulate and eloquent,” said Moyo’s father.

“He was very intelligent. He was very good at Mathematics and we wanted him to become a doctor.”

Moyo’s quench for a greater purpose would see him abandoning school while in form three and life as he knew it, skipping the border into Botswana together with other pupils to join the armed struggle in January 1977.
He was only 17 years of age at the time. Together with his cousin, (now) Air Marshal Elson Moyo, he joined Zipra, Zapu’s military wing. He studied a military course at Zambian Military Academy, Kohima in 1977.

At the end of the war in 1980, Moyo joined Zimbabwe National Army and was subsequently sent to Russia for further education.
“I said to him ‘the war is over, can you go back to school?’ but he refused,” said Mr Moyo.
“He said ‘father I am now working for the country’. All along he was working in the army until the day I saw him on television addressing the nation.

“For a moment, I just stared at the television asking myself if the person talking was my son Sibusiso. I spent two days without eating, worried whether or not Mugabe would have mercy on my son. We first heard about General Constantino Chiwenga’s address and we were confused when we saw Sibusiso on television,” said his father.

Efforts to have him leave the army for a civilian life were futile.
“After the war he enrolled at the Zimbabwe Military Academy where he furthered his studies, but our parents were still determined that he should become a doctor,” said his brother Bothwell in recent reports.

“We tried to convince him to study medicine, but he said to our parents, ‘my father, I will do everything for you while I am working for the army’.”
Moyo rose through the ranks to be promoted from Brigadier General to Major General by former president, the late Robert Mugabe in January 2016.

During the course of his career, Moyo would not only further his education in military studies but also other civilian studies thus earning a Masters in Business Administration from Zimbabwe Open University, Masters in International Relations and subsequently a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Zimbabwe.

Thus when he retired from military service, having been promoted to Lt-Gen, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, a post he held till his death.

Controversy
Though he may have led a life not known to many before 2017, Dr Moyo’s life was filled with controversy.

He was part of the military group that was sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo by the late president Mugabe in the 1990s. While in that country he allegedly came up with a plan to loot wealth together with other top military chefs including the late Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri.

A United Nations report on the plundering of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo alleges that together with the then speaker of Parliament and former security minister, now president Emmerson Mnangagwa, Dr Moyo was the key strategist for Zimbabwe’s business involvement in the DRC.

The report states that Dr Moyo was the Director General of COSLEG, the company involved in exploiting diamond mining, logging and banking in the DRC while Shiri is mentioned as being responsible for military procurement and organising air support for the pro-Kinshasa armed groups fighting in the eastern DRC at the time.

Locally, Moyo’s record is tainted with the blood of victims of the bloody 2008 presidential election run-off which saw thousands displaced, maimed and murdered at the hands of the army working in cahoots with Mugabe’s ZANU PF.

He was allegedly part of the Joint Operation Command personnel deployed to make sure ZANU PF wins the election. He led the team deployed to Midlands province.

This was outlined in a report titled “The Military Factor In Zimbabwe’s Political And Electoral Affairs” published by Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition in 2011.

Health
Moyo was a regular visitor to medical facilities in and outside Zimbabwe for quite some time. Early last year he was hospitalised for kidney failure, which forced him to take some time off work.

His death, however, came as a surprise to many Zimbabweans, while President Mnangagwa described it as a loss to public service.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce Foreign Minister Dr SB Moyo has died,” said President Mnangagwa on Twitter.

“Zimbabwe has lost a devoted public servant and a true hero, and I have lost a friend. He fought his entire life so that Zimbabwe could be free. May he rest in peace.” Nhau/Indaba