Peter Munetsi, a senior Zimbabwean spy operative, died as a result of multiple blunt force injuries during the military-led coup that ousted former president Robert Mugabe, an autopsy report has revealed.

This refutes assertions that he had died of illness.

Munetsi was a district divisional intelligence officer employed by the Central Intelligence Organisation, the country's dreaded spy agency, which authorities claimed was opposed to the coup.

SowetanLIVE can now exclusively reveal the extent of the injuries inflicted on Munetsi while he was in military detention.

According to a summary of the autopsy examination report conducted by Dr Tsungai Victor Javangwe on November 21 2017 at the state-run Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Munetsi was certified dead on November 16 2017 by one Dr Chinegono at 1 Commando Barracks hospital in Harare, which is run by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF).

Javangwe said after examining Munetsi’s body he recorded that he had "sustained multiple graze abrasions on several parts of his body, including on his hands, arms, legs, elbows, ears, forehead, knees and scalp".

"This is a 55-year-old man, initially reported as having fallen ill, but later reported to have been a possible victim of assault," reads part of the autopsy report.

"At autopsy he shows mucosal pallor and multiple purple black contusions ... Mucosal pallor is often found in individuals who are anaemic, of which bleeding is among the causes. Reflection of skin shows extensive haemorrhage into muscle and subcutaneous tissue, with blood collections seen in areas of the back, upper and lower limbs."