Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sibusiso Moyo has died from COVID-19, the government announced on Wednesday. He gained prominence in 2017 as the military general who announced the coup against then-President Robert Mugabe on television. Moyo, 61, previously little known to the public, became the face of the coup when he announced the military had placed Mugabe under house arrest as armoured vehicles rolled into the capital, Harare. The coup ended Mugabe’s 37-year rule in Zimbabwe. Mugabe died in September 2019. Moyo was appointed foreign affairs minister after President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power with military backing. Opposition spokeswoman Fadzayi Mahere said she tested positive for COVID-19 after being released from prison. She was freed on Monday after seven days in detention. Jailed journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and other inmates have previously raised concerns over the crowded prison conditions, which they said encourages COVID-19 transmission among inmates and prison guards. Harare’s mayor and opposition official, Jacob Mafume, released from prison this week after a month in detention, is in isolation after his lawyers said three of his cellmates had died from COVID-19.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
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