CIO Plotted To Eliminate Chamisa And Frame It As COVID-19 Death, Report Claims
A report from the United Kingdom-based investigative publication Dug Up has claimed that Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) considered eliminating opposition leader Nelson Chamisa in 2020, with the plan to frame the death as a consequence of the coronavirus.
According to the report, Chamisa, who narrowly lost the 2018 presidential election to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, was identified by CIO operatives as the primary threat to ZANU PF’s long-standing grip on power.
The report also alleges a plot within the agency to have former CIO Director-General Isaac Moyo removed from his post in 2020, just over two years after his appointment by Mnangagwa.
Moyo, who had previously served as Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, was reportedly seen as more of a diplomat than an intelligence operative.
According to the Dug Up report, Moyo’s subordinates advised Mnangagwa that his leadership of the CIO could jeopardize his presidency, and suggested that Moyo be relieved of his duties.
The report further claims that Moyo was criticized for his refusal to authorize the elimination of Chamisa and other political figures deemed “problematic”.
He was described by some within the agency as “too nice” to lead the CIO. Reads part of the report:
As early as 2020, Mnangagwa received reports that claimed Moyo was a nice but ineffective DG. One such report, dated February 15, 2021, claimed Moyo had turned down two projects/operations that suggested using the COVID-19 pandemic as a smokescreen to kill opposition candidates including Nelson Chamisa.
Dug Up understands the proposal came from the operative division of the CIO and suggested that the elimination of opposition actors could be hidden behind the pandemic.
The DG refused to authorise the operations. His juniors wrote a report saying he was too nice to lead the CIO.
Moyo found out and in a heated internal JOC meeting blasted his juniors. Provincial directors who sat in that meeting told Dug Up it was explosive and Isaac’s deputies flat out told him “You are not an Operative.”
According to Dug UP, amongst many reforms Moyo brought to the CIO, operatives reportedly did not take kindly to him demanding that they surrender their identity cards before knocking off to reduce cases of abuse.
Moyo is also reported to have demanded reports for any case of excess force and barred the carrying of weapons.
In January 2025, Mnangagwa removed Moyo from his post and replaced him with Fulton Mangwanya, who had been the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management’s director-general since August 1, 2017.
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