BY XOLISANI NCUBE
FORMER Zimbabwe National Army chief of staff, Major-General Trust Mugoba has died.
According to Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda, Mugoba who had been deployed to the African Union (AU) standby force, passed away in Harare yesterday morning.
“He left Ethiopia two weeks ago and when he came back home, he was actually on leave, but his condition deteriorated a few days ago, leading to his death,” Sibanda said.
Mugoba was posted to Addis Ababa in 2017 as the chief of staff for the AU standby force before the late former President Robert Mugabe was toppled in a military coup.
Mugoba’s deployment to the AU at the time was seen as part of Mugabe’s coup-proofing strategy by giving the security forces preferential treatment in the face of the worsening economic situation in the country.
Before his reassignment, Mugoba served as one of Sibanda’s three deputies in charge of general staff together with then Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba (administration) who is now Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Mozambique and Major-General Sibusiso Moyo (quartermaster staff), now Foreign Affairs minister.
At the AU, Mugoba commanded a 25 000-strong multinational standby force made up of five brigades based in Douala, Cameroon.
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The force is regarded as one of the key pillars of the AU.
Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.
