 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.