Lookout Masuku

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Lieutenant General Lookout Masuku (April 7, 1940 – April 5, 1986) commanded the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army, the militant wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union, during the Rhodesian Bush War. He served as the deputy commander of the Zimbabwe National Army until his arrest in 1982 for allegedly plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.

In 1982 Zimbabwean police arrested Masuku and Dumiso Dabengwa, the ZIPRA intelligence chief, for allegedly planning a coup d'état against then-Prime Minister Robert Mugabe. The Supreme Court found Masuku, Dabengwa, and four others not guilty in 1983, but police detained them again under emergency regulations, holding them for four years. The government released Masuku because of poor health and Vote Moyo, a ZAPU official, on March 11, 1986.

He died on April 5, 1986 at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare from cryptococcal meningitis. SW Radio Africa expressed doubt about the official circumstances of Masuku's death, saying it was "suspicious."

The Mugabe government later declared Masuku a national hero.

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Last updated on Monday September 17, 2007 at 08:09:06 PDT (GMT -0700)
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