Chief of Defence (Zimbabwe)

Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces
Incumbent Emmanuel Matatu since 21 November 2025
Ministry of Defence
Reports to	Minister of Defence
Appointer	President of Zimbabwe
Formation	1977
First holder	Peter Walls

The Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the national defence organisations.

List of chiefs

Commander Combined Operations (Comops), Rhodesian Security Forces

During May 1977, a Combined Operations headquarters (or "Comops" as it was referred to) was formed to direct the activities of all Rhodesian Security Forces. Prior to this, each service had its own command structure and active operations were co-ordinated, at a local level, through Joint Operation Commands (or JOCs). The first (and only) Commander Comops was Lieut.-General G. Peter Walls, former head of the Rhodesian Army. Air Marshal 'Mick' J. McLaren was Deputy Commander. ^{[1] [ page needed ]}

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Walls, Peter Lieutenant General Peter Walls GLM, DCD, MBE (1926–2010)	1977	1980	2–3 years	[2]

Chairman, Joint High Command

Following the electoral victory of Robert Mugabe's ZANU party on 4 March 1980 a Joint High Command was established to oversee the integration of the former warring armies. Lieut.-General Peter Walls (former Commander of the Rhodesian Combined Operations) was appointed as Chairman of the Joint High Command. Other members included: Lieut.-General A. C. L. ‘Sandy’ Maclean (former Commander Zimbabwe-Rhodesian Army); Air Vice-Marshal Frank Mussell (former Commander Zimbabwe-Rhodesian Air Force); ‘Lieut.-General’ Lookout Masuku (former Commander Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army, ZIPRA); ‘Lieut.-General’ Solomon T. Mujuru, alias Rex Nhongo (former Commander Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, ZANLA); and Mr Alan Page (Secretary of Defence). ^[3]

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Walls, PeterLieutenant General Peter Walls GLM, DCD, MBE (1926–2010)	March 1980	July 1980	4 months

Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces

In July 1980 Lieut-General Walls resigned and was exiled from Zimbabwe. Lieut-General ‘Sandy’ Maclean was appointed by then Prime Minister Mugabe as the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces on 8 August 1980, and promoted to General. ^[4]

No.	Portrait	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Maclean, Andrew General Andrew 'Sandy' Maclean (?–2019)	8 August 1980	31 July 1982	1 year, 357 days	[5]
2		Mujuru, SolomonGeneral Solomon Mujuru (1949–2011)	1 August 1982	1992	10–11 years	[6]
3		Zvinavashe, VitalisGeneral Vitalis Zvinavashe (1943–2009)	July 1994	31 December 2003	9 years, 5 months	[7]
4		Chiwenga, ConstantinoGeneral Constantino Chiwenga (born 1956)	1 January 2004	19 December 2017	13 years, 352 days	[8]
5		Sibanda, Philip ValerioGeneral Philip Valerio Sibanda (born 1954)	19 December 2017	21 November 2025	7 years, 337 days	[9]
6		Matatu, EmmanuelGeneral Emmanuel Matatu (born 1960)	21 November 2025	Incumbent	−1 day	[10]

References

1. Lovett, John (1977). Contact: A tribute to those who serve Rhodesia. Galaxie Press. ISBN   978-0869250532.
2. Abbott, Peter; Botham, Philip (1986). Modern African Wars (1) 1965-80 : Rhodesia. Men at Arms Series. Osprey Publishing. p. 11. ISBN   978-0850457285.
3. Alao, Abiodun, The metamorphosis of the ‘unorthodox’: the integration and early development of the Zimbabwean National Army, in: Bhebe, N. & Ranger, T. (eds) Soldiers in Zimbabwe’s Liberation War, Volume One, University of Zimbabwe Publications, Harare, 1995.
4. Matiashe, Farai, 'First ZDF commander Maclean dies', Newsday, 23 July 2019.
5. Matiashe, Farai (23 July 2019). "First ZDF commander Maclean dies". newsday.co.zw. Alpha Media Holdings. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
6. Chan, Stephen (11 September 2011). "Solomon Mujuru obituary". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 13 February 2017.
7. Mataire, Lovemore (1 December 2003). "Chiwenga Appointed ZDF Commander". Zimbabwe Situation. Harare: The Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
8. AFP (28 December 2017). "Zimbabwe general who led coup against Mugabe sworn in as VP". Daily Nation. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
9. Xinhua (19 December 2017). "Zimbabwean president appoints new defense chief". xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
10. "President appoints new ZDF commander". The Herald. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-19.