Elson Moyo

Who is Elson Moyo?

Air Vice-Marshal Elson Moyo was a deputy commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe and one of the main figures in the 2007 Zimbabwean coup d'état attempt.

Elson Moyo is the younger brother of July Moyo, the former government minister who was dismissed by Robert Mugabe. Elson Moyo achieved some notoriety after he was sued for allegedly committing adultery with the wife of a policeman.

After Zimbabwe gained independence, Moyo was a flying instructor at Thornhill Airbase in Gweru. During this time he trained many pilots who went on to become senior officers in the AFZ. Moyo was promoted from Air Commodore to Air Vice-Marshal in November 2003. In early 2007, he held the post of Chief of Staff - Operations. Unlike the Air Force Commander, Perence Shiri and the other high ranking AFZ officers, Moyo is able to fly an aircraft and as such he commanded a degree of personal loyalty from those senior officers whom he instructed during their flying training.

In March 2007, it was reported that Moyo had become critically ill as a result of suspected poisoning. He later recovered.

Moyo was arrested on 7 June 2007 along with Major General Engelbert Rugeje and around 400 other military personnel for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Mugabe administration. It was later noted that Moyo was under 24 hour surveillance and had been removed from his public roles.