Lt. General Chimonyo Zimbabwe’s Military Chief Succumbs To Cancer

Agency Reports

Zimbabwe’s military chief, Lt.Gen. Edzayi Chimonyo died early on Thursday due to cancer, a presidential spokesman said.

Chimonyo was appointed to the position after the coup that toppled President Robert Mugabe in 2017.

He had been battling cancer, presidential spokesman, George Charamba, wrote on Twitter.

Chimonyo, like all the current crop of military generals in Zimbabwe, is a former fighter in the country’s 1970s war of independence.

The army holds an outsized influence in Zimbabwean politics.

In November 2017, the army stepped in to oust the late Robert Mugabe and pave way for incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The opposition often accuses the army of openly siding with the ruling party in violation of the constitution.