Trust Mugoba

Death; 6 September 2019, at a Harare hospital. ^{[2] [3] [1]}

School / Education

1966 to 1967; Chipinda Primary School in Mberengwa.
1968 to 1970; Rambakurimwa Primary School in Chivhu.
Completed primary education; Chabwira Primary School, Mberengwa.
Secondary School - Chegato Secondary School, Mberengwa.
1977; Ordinary level. ^[1]

Service / Career

Mugoba joined the liberation struggle in 1977, while doing his O levels. His nom de guerre was Joseph Zulu.
He did basic training at Takawira Training Camp.
August 1977; posted to Chimoio headquarters. Employed as a medic.
1978; to Nachingwea, Tanzania, for further training. Appointed as an instructor at the same camp.
After Independence, he held various positions until he was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 2007.

Events

2008; appointed Chief of Staff (Administration and Quartermaster staff).
January 2015; appointed Chief of Staff (General Staff).
Included General Officer commanding Sadc Special Forces exercise, held in Kariba.
October 2015; led Exercise Amani Africa 2 (involved the whole African continent).
^[1] 2017; seconded to the African Union headquarters as the Chief of Staff Africa Standby Force in Addis Ababa.
^[4]

This move was part of Mugabe’s coup-proofing by giving the security forces preferential treatment in the face of worsening economic conditions in the country. Besides the special treatment on salaries, the military has been getting constant promotions and huge perks to keep them quiet. “Major-General Mugoba held a farewell party last week and is now expected to leave the country this weekend for Ethiopia. His redeployment is part of President Mugabe’s realignment of the security sector,” a source familiar with the developments said. “A lot of changes are expected in the security establishment soon; from the civilian intelligence, military intelligence to the army. Bonyongwe will have to be replaced. Mugoba is going on a new assignment to Addis Ababa. These changes are informed by the current political environment, President Mugabe’s succession and the forthcoming general elections.

Top security sources told the Independent this week that Mugabe is still likely to promote CIO deputy director-general Aaron Daniel Tonde Nhepera, appointed to that position in 2011 to replace the late Menard Muzariri, to take over from Happyton Bonyongwe. As first reported by the Zimbabwe Independent, President Robert Mugabe is set to reshuffle key security service chiefs, having already redeployed ex-Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) boss retired Major-General Happyton Bonyongwe to become the new Justice minister.

Other sources, however, said Mugabe is also considering other directors to take up the position of spy chief, meaning that Nhepera could also be reassigned. Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander (ZDF) General Constantine Chiwenga, who together with other top security service chiefs are now serving on rolling one-year contracts after completing their constitutional two five-year tenures, remains targeted for removal as previously reported extensively by the Independent. Security sources said Chiwenga could be replaced by Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant-General Philip Valerio Sibanda or Air Force of Zimbabwe Air Marshal Perence Shiri.

Mugoba, one of Sibanda’s three deputies in charge of general staff together with Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba (administration) and Major-General S B Moyo (quartermaster staff), is regarded as a competent commander hence his redeployment to the AU. The AU military logistical base will have a 25 000-strong multinational standby force made up of five brigades. It will be based in Douala, Cameroon.

In March 2015, Mugabe appointed three high-ranking Zimbabwe Defence Forces officers as ambassadors to Japan, Russia and Mozambique. Air Vice-Marshal Titus Abu-Basutu was posted to Japan, Major-General Nicholas Dube, who was chief-of-staff joint operations and plans in the Ministry of Defence, was sent to Mozambique, while Brigadier-General Mike Sango became Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Russia, taking over from Lieutenant-Colonel Boniface Chidyausiku. ^[4]

Further Reading