Lieutenant General Lookout Khalisabantu Vumindaba Masuku (7 April 1940 – 5 April 1986) commanded the

Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...

(ZIPRA), the militant wing of the

Zimbabwe African People's Union The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant communist organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with ...

(ZAPU), during the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

. He served as the deputy commander of the

Zimbabwe National Army The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army h ...

until his arrest in 1982 for allegedly plotting to overthrow

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

.Lookout Masuku dies at 46; commanded Nkomo forces
The New York Times

Biography

In 1982 Zimbabwean police arrested Masuku and Dumiso Dabengwa, the ZIPRA intelligence chief, for allegedly planning a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

against then-Prime Minister Robert Mugabe. The

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

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 11 March 1986.Many deaths remain shrouded in mystery
The Zimbabwean. Masuku arrived in Rhodesia with Dumiso Dabengwa on 24 December 1979. Dabengwa had a meeting arranged with an informant from the country's

Central Intelligence Organisation The Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) is the national intelligence agency of Zimbabwe. It was conceived as the external intelligence-gathering arm of the British South Africa Police Special Branch in the early 1960s, under the Southern Rh ...

, but could not attend so sent Masuku in his stead. They judged this meeting very important, as the informant claimed that a few weeks earlier that

Josiah Tongogara Josiah Magama Tongogara (4 February 1938 – 26 December 1979) was a prominent Zimbabwean guerrilla commander during the Rhodesian Bush War. He was the brother of the current Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's first wife, Jayne. He atte ...

was killed in an ambush in Mozambique. The meeting took place in the Wimpy Bar in Salisbury (Harare), organised by "The Senator", which was his codename. He died on 5 April 1986 at

Parirenyatwa Hospital Parirenyatwa General Hospital is a government founded district general hospital in Harare and is the largest public hospital in Zimbabwe. The hospital was formerly known as the Andrew Fleming Hospital and was named after the principal medical offi ...

in Harare from cryptococcal

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

. SW Radio Africa expressed doubt about the official circumstances of Masuku's death, saying it was "suspicious."

Legacy

The Mugabe government later declared Masuku a national hero. On 18 November 2017, the Government of Zimbabwe decided to honor some of the nation's prominent Liberation War Heroes by renaming some of the country's military barracks after them. Llewellin Barracks, situated on the outskirts of the city of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

, was renamed Lookout Masuku Barracks for the late ZIPRA Commander.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masuku, Lookout 1940 births 1986 deaths Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army personnel Zimbabwean military personnel People acquitted of treason Neurological disease deaths in Zimbabwe Infectious disease deaths in Zimbabwe Deaths from meningitis Prisoners and detainees of Zimbabwe Northern Ndebele people Zimbabwean military leaders