By Munacho Gwamanda- In another devastating blow to Zimbabwe’s military establishment, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Winnie Cabby Mandeya, liberation war veteran and senior officer of the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), has died under circumstances officially described as natural, but which deepen suspicions of a systematic purge of the military figures who engineered the 2017 ouster of Robert Mugabe.

Mandeya, aged 64, passed away early Monday morning at St Anne’s Hospital in Harare.

Confirming her death, Air Marshal Jacob John Nzvede described her as “a determined cadre” who had served the Air Force with “dedication and loyalty” since 1984 after a distinguished record during the liberation struggle.

A funeral parade is scheduled for Tuesday at Manyame Air Force Base, while mourners have gathered at her Borrowdale residence, 766 Hogerty Hill, Harare.

Mandeya’s death adds to a deeply troubling and expanding list of top military figures, more than 20 who have died since the 2017 military-assisted transition that installed Emmerson Mnangagwa as Zimbabwe’s leader.

Analysts and insiders warn: these deaths are unlikely to be coincidences.

Since the tanks rolled into Harare in November 2017, signaling the end of Mugabe’s four-decade rule, the military’s role in Zimbabwean politics has been both central and dangerous. 

Now, the very architects of that historic coup are dying in rapid succession.

Among the key figures who have died under suspicious, sudden, or officially unexplained circumstances:

Sibusiso Busi Moyo, the public face of the coup, who announced the military takeover on national television, died allegedly of COVID-19. Air Chief Marshal (Retired) Perrance Shiri, commander of the Air Force during the coup and later Agriculture Minister, died suddenly in 2020, also officially from COVID-19. Major General (Retired) Trust Mugoba — former Zimbabwe National Army Chief of Staff, died in 2019 amid a mysterious illness. CIO Boss General Walter Basopo died last week. Brigadier General Rungani, another key figure in the 2008 political violence, died last week.

The list stretches further, painting a grim picture of systematic elimination.