By Munacho Gwamanda- The dramatic military coup that ousted the late President Robert Mugabe in November 2017 was triggered by none other than his former top spy and Justice Minister, Retired Lieutenant General Happyton Bonyongwe, according to the ruling Zanu PF party.
Party spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa has sensationally claimed that Bonyongwe’s actions and political manoeuvres were the final straw that led the military to intervene and force Mugabe out of power after nearly four decades at the helm.
Mutsvangwa also accused Mugabe of abandoning the ideals of the liberation struggle, branding him a “dynastic pretender” who had ceased to serve the revolution and was instead trying to hand over power to his wife, Grace Mugabe.
A Coup Years in the Making
The events of November 2017 marked a turning point in Zimbabwe’s post-independence history. Long-simmering tensions between rival factions within the ruling party, and particularly between the military and the so-called G40 faction aligned with Grace Mugabe, exploded into the open.
At the centre of the storm was Mugabe’s succession. For years, speculation swirled over who would take over after the aging leader. Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a liberation war stalwart with strong ties to the military, was long seen as the natural successor. But Grace Mugabe’s rapid political rise—backed by a younger faction of technocrats and party elites—threatened to upend that trajectory.
A few weeks before the coup, Mnangagwa was expelled from both government and Zanu PF, accused of disloyalty and plotting against Mugabe. He fled the country, reportedly with military assistance, and issued a defiant statement promising to return.
Back in Harare, Mugabe reshuffled his Cabinet and appointed Bonyongwe—then the director-general of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)—as Minister of Justice. This move was widely interpreted as an attempt to consolidate power and further weaken the influence of the military, which remained loyal to Mnangagwa.
It was against this backdrop that Mutsvangwa now claims Bonyongwe moved to arrest top army commanders, a step that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces viewed as a direct threat to national stability and their institutional survival.
Operation Restore Legacy
On 15 November 2017, tanks rolled into Harare. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces, led by then-General Constantino Chiwenga, launched what they called Operation Restore Legacy. Mugabe was placed under house arrest, and a series of dramatic negotiations unfolded behind closed doors.
Despite attempts by South African mediators and Catholic clergy to broker a dignified exit, Mugabe refused to step down. It was only after Zanu PF initiated impeachment proceedings in Parliament, and amid massive public demonstrations, that he finally resigned on 21 November 2017.
Mnangagwa returned from exile and was sworn in as president days later.
Legacy of the Coup
While Zanu PF portrays the coup as a necessary correction to safeguard the legacy of the liberation struggle, critics see it as a thinly veiled power grab that simply replaced one faction of elites with another.
The role of Bonyongwe, long a shadowy figure in Zimbabwe’s security state, has remained murky—until now. Mutsvangwa’s remarks suggest that internal battles among security chiefs and Bonyongwe’s alleged overreach may have catalysed the events that brought an end to Mugabe’s long rule.