Zimbabwe’s army commander dies

Zimbabwe’s army commander died early on Thursday due to cancer, the presidential spokesman has said.

The army holds an outsized influence in Zimbabwean politics.

In November 2017, the army stepped in to oust the late Robert Mugabe and pave way for incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Lt.-Gen. Edzayi Chimonyo, who was appointed to the position after the coup, had been battling cancer,  presidential spokesman, George Charamba, wrote on Twitter.

Chimonyo, like all the current crop of military generals in Zimbabwe, is a former fighter in the country’s 1970s war of independence.

The opposition often accuses the army of openly siding with the ruling party in violation of the constitution.