2007 Zimbabwean alleged coup d'état attempt

The Zimbabwean government claimed to have foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt involving almost 400 soldiers and high-ranking members of the military that would have occurred on June 2 or June 15, 2007. The alleged leaders of the coup, all of whom were arrested, were retired army Captain Albert Matapo, Colonel Ben Ncube, Major General Engelbert Rugeje, and Air Vice Marshal Elson Moyo.[1][2][3][4]

"Zimbabwean coup d'état attempt" redirects here. For the 2017 coup d'état, see 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état.

According to the government, the soldiers planned on forcibly removing President Robert Mugabe from office and asking Rural Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa to form a government with the heads of the armed forces.[5]

Some analysts have speculated that rival successors to Mugabe, such as former Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army leader Solomon Mujuru, were possibly trying to discredit Mnangagwa.[1]

Treason charges were laid against Matapo and other civilians,[5] but no treason trial ever took place, for lack of evidence.[6] However seven men (including Matapo, but not Ncube, Rugeje or Moyo), who were allegedly only trying to form a new political party, were held in prison for seven years (and allegedly severely tortured beforehand) before being released in 2014, and subsequently founding their new party.[6]

Ncube, Rugeje, and Moyo were all reported under house arrest in June 2007,[4] but all remained in the army.[7][8][9][10]

Mnangagwa remained in office, and eventually replaced Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe after a successful coup d'etat in November 2017.[11][12]

May arrest

The Zimbabwean government claimed to have foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt involving almost 400 soldiers and high-ranking members of the military that would have occurred on June 2 or June 15, 2007. The alleged leaders of the coup, all of whom were arrested, were retired army Captain Albert Matapo, Spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Army Colonel Ben Ncube, Major General Engelbert Rugeje (Quartermaster at Army HQ), and Air Vice Marshal Elson Moyo (deputy commander of the air force).[1][2][3][4]

According to the government, the soldiers planned on forcibly removing President Robert Mugabe from office and asking Rural Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa to form a government with the heads of the armed forces.[5] The government first heard of the plot when a former army officer who opposed the coup contacted the police in Paris, France, giving them a map and a list of those involved. Mnangagwa and State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa both said they did not know about the plot, Mnangagwa calling it "stupid."[1][13]

Some analysts have speculated that rival successors to Mugabe, such as former Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army leader Solomon Mujuru, were possibly trying to discredit Mnangagwa.[1]

Gilbert Kagodora, treasurer for the Movement for Democratic Change political party in Mashonaland Central, said he and Matapo were arrested by men whom he suspected work for the Central Intelligence Organization at 2:PM on May 29 in Harare.[14]

We had gone to meet Matapo for business together with three other party activists at Winston Court along Fourth Street. Initially, they told us that we were being arrested for dealing in foreign currency and they then proceeded to blindfold us with masking tape. They also tied our hands and took us into a van downstairs. I could not tell exactly where they were driving us to.[14]

Kagodora said he and Matapo were put in a basement where he believed Military Intelligence Unit officials tortured him, using electrical rods to elicit confessions. Interrogators asked about MDC terror camps in South Africa, leaders and financiers of the plot, petrol bombers in the MDC, and the Democratic Resistance Committee. On June 1 Kagodora came into the custody of the Law and Order section at Harare Central Police Station. He said he heard interrogators asking Matapo to reveal the names of army and police officers with ties to the coup d'état. Police released Kagadora on June 4.[14]

Charges and aftermath

Several men, either on active duty or retired from the Zimbabwe National Army, were arrested between May 29 and early June. They were present in secret court hearings twice in which family members and journalists were not allowed to attend. The case was heard by the High Court. Prosecutors accuse Albert Matapo of leading the coup and trying to "recruit as many soldiers as possible to take over the government and all camps and be in control of the nation after which he will announce to the nation that he was in control of government and would invite Minister Mnangagwa and service chiefs to form a government." Albert Rugowe, formerly an officer in the army, was accused of recruiting military officials for the coup. Captain Shepherd Maromo and Olivine Morale were also on trial.[3]

According to a military source in Harare, the coup leaders allegedly contacted Western governments and asked them if they would support the coup. "The general feedback was that the western countries would publicly condemn the coup and privately support it only if it would restore democracy in Zimbabwe."[3]

Treason charges were laid against Matapo and other civilians,[5] but no treason trial ever took place, for lack of evidence.[6] However seven men, former Army Captain Albert Matapo (who had retired from the army 16 years earlier in 1991), and six others, Emmanuel Marara, Oncemore Mudzurahona, Partson Mupfure, Nyasha Zivuku, Rangarirai Mazivofa and Shingirai Webster Mutemachani, ended up spending seven years in Chikurubi Prison, before being released on March 1, 2014.[6] Matapo claimed they were severely tortured during interrogation, including electrocution to the genitals.[6] He said they were not attempting a coup, and had no interest in supporting Mnangagwa (whom he deemed as bad as Mugabe, and potentially even worse than him), but were simply trying to form a political party, now called United Crusade for Achieving Democracy (UCAD), which was eventually launched by them in Harare on August 1, 2014.[6]

Senior officers reportedly under house arrest in June 2007,[4] such as Colonel Ben Ncube,[7] Major-General Engelbert Rugeje[8][9] and Air Vice Marshal Elson Moyo,[10] remained in the army.

Emmerson Mnangagwa remained in office, and 10 years later was sworn in as President of Zimbabwe on 24 November 2017,[11] after the resignation of Robert Mugabe following the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état, a removal that was however recognized by the African Union as a legitimate expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people.[12]

References
  1. Coup 'plot' feeds Zimbabwe political tension, June 16, 2007. Times Online
  2. Zimbabwe: Army investigates reports of coup plot, June 14, 2007. AllAfrica
  3. Zimbabwe 'coup plotters' charged with treason Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, June 14, 2007. AllAfrica
  4. Moses Moyo (10 June 2007). "Coup Attempt Nipped in Bud". First Post. ocnus.net. Retrieved 24 November 2017. The three senior officers are currently under armed guard at their Harare homes, apparently because the government is anxious to isolate them from other officers. They are Maj Gen Angelbert Rugeje, Quartermaster at Army HQ, Col Ben Ncube, of the army public relations directorate, and Air Vice Marshal Elson Moyo, deputy commander of the air force. (first written by Moses Moyo on 7 June, last updated on 10 June)
  5. "Zimbabwe: Alleged coup plotters deny treason charges". Irish Examiner. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2017. The Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said ... Judge Tedias Karwe postponed the bail hearing to an unspecified date to await submissions from state prosecutors, the paper said. It said prosecutors alleged the men, led by retired soldier Albert Mugove Mutapo, 40, conspired from June 2006 until their arrests last month to overthrow Mugabe. Mutapo planned with the others to recruit soldiers, members of the air force and police to topple Mugabe and replace him with Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. ... Mutapo would then announce he was in control of the nation and invite Mnangagwa and service chiefs to form a government, the paper said. Mutapo himself would be given a new government post of prime minister, it was alleged. ... Defence lawyer Jonathan Samkange, according to the paper, told Judge Karwe the men denied treason charges, saying they were arrested while forming a new political party to be called the United Democratic Front. “Their discussions with prospective members were not for criminal purposes but for recruiting potential supporters,” Samkange said.The paper quoted Samkange as saying Mutapo denied knowing Mnangagwa personally. It identified the suspects arrested with him as Nyasha Zivuka, 32, Oncemore Mudzurahona, 41, Emmanuel Marara, 40, Patson Mupfure, 46, and Shingirai Mutemachani, 20. None was identified as a member of the military. Earlier reports had said two of the suspects were serving soldiers.
  6. Staff Reporter (3 September 2014). "Former army officer breaks silence on coup accusations". The Zimbabwean. Retrieved 16 November 2017. An army officer, who with six friends was abducted in May 2007 and ended up spending seven years in Chikurubi Prison, has broken his silence by speaking to The Zimbabwean this week. ...former Army Captain Albert Matapo ... and six others, Emmanuel Marara, Oncemore Mudzurahona, Partson Mupfure, Nyasha Zivuku, Rangarirai Mazivofa and Shingirai Webster Mutemachani, were abducted on May 29, 2007, at 108 Nelson Mandela Avenue, Harare, by people in plain clothes who identified themselves as CIO and army intelligence officers. ... 'We were abducted because we were in the process of forming a new political party which is now called United Crusade for Achieving Democracy (UCAD). ...' ... Matapo said they were taken to an unknown destination where they suffered several forms of torture, including electrocution on the genitals. ... However, the treason trial did not commence due to lack of evidence and the seven men were released on March 1. ... They went ahead and formed their party, UCAD, which was launched on August 1 in Harare. ... 'There is no way normal people like us would remove Robert Mugabe and put Mnangagwa because they are one and the same. Mnangagwa can even be worse than Mugabe. ...'
  7. "Sex for food at army barracks". The Zimbabwean. 14 January 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2017. A senior officer at the Press Relations department refuted the allegations but refused to comment, referring all questions to the head of Army Public Relations, Col Ben Ncube, who was unreachable.
  8. Zaba, Faith (Published on 16 September 2012). Mugabe Blasts Army Generals. Zimbabwe Independent. Retrieved 2017-11-16. "Some of the Zanu PF and military elites who have benefitted from the seizures include ... major-general Engelbert Rugeje ..."
  9. Gagare, Owen and Mambo, Elias (Published on 19 February 2016).Grace angers army chiefs. Zimbabwe Independent. Retrieved 2017-11-16. "Other senior army officials said to be sympathetic to Mnangagwa are Major- General Engelbert Rugeje, ..."
  10. "Zim, China military ties reaffirmed". zimbabwesituation.com. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2017. In an interview at the celebrations, Chief of Staff Joint Operation and Plans for the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Air Vice Marshal Elson Moyo said Zimbabwe was learning a lot from the PLA.
  11. "Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa sworn in as president". RTÉ. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017. Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa has been sworn in as the country’s president, bringing the final curtain down on the 37-year rule of Robert Mugabe.
  12. "Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa to be sworn in as president on Friday". RTÉ. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017. Despite the Zimbabwe army's intervention, the AU did not characterise Mr Mugabe's ousting as a coup, but rather a legitimate expression of the will of Zimbabweans."The African Union recognises that the Zimbabwean people have expressed their will that there should be a peaceful transfer of power in a manner that secures the democratic future of their country," it said.
  13. Allegations of coup plot in Zimbabwe Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, June 15, 2007. Mail and Guardian Online
  14. Zimbabwe: Alleged coup plotter speaks out AllAfrica
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