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The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) are composed of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), the Zimbabwe Royal Navy and the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). Although it is a landlocked country, Zimbabwe has a small navy consisting of nine sailors and one grand admiral. The most senior commander of the ZDF is General Phillip Valerio Sibanda. At the time of independence after the Rhodesian Bush War, the then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe declared that integrating Zimbabwe's three armed forces would be one of Zimbabwe's top priorities. The existing Rhodesian Army was combined with the two guerrilla armies; the 20,000-strong Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) forces of Zimbabwe African National Union-PF and the 15,000-strong Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) forces of PF-Zimbabwe African People's Union. The current manpower stands at an estimated strength of 29,000 in the Army, and an estimated 4,000 in the Air Force. Since the Rhodesian Bush War, the armed forces has been mostly involved with the suppression of non-state armed cells in a number of operations.
Josiah Magama Tongogara was a prominent Zimbabwean guerrilla commander during the Rhodesian Bush War. He was the brother of the current Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's first wife, Jayne. He attended the Lancaster House conference that led to Zimbabwe's independence and the end of white minority rule.
Joice Runaida Mujuru, also known by her nom-de-guerre Teurai Ropa Nhongo, is a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2014. Previously she had served as a government minister. She also served as Vice-President of ZANU–PF. She was married to Solomon Mujuru until his death in 2011 and was long considered a potential successor to President Robert Mugabe, but in 2014 she was denounced for allegedly plotting against Mugabe. As a result of the accusations against her, Mujuru lost both her post as Vice-President and her position in the party leadership. She was expelled from the party a few months later, after which she formed the new Zimbabwe People First party.
The 5th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA). The 5th Brigade was created in 1981 from three former battalions of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). It later incorporated over 3,000 ex-ZANLA guerrillas from various units. The brigade was based in Gweru and participated in the Mozambican Civil War as well as a controversial domestic operation known as Gukurahundi which targeted Ndebele civilians and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas.
The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second Chimurenga as well as the Zimbabwean War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia.
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army has its roots in the Rhodesian Army, which was raised between 1963 and 1964 after the breakup of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. A Joint High Command created in March 1980 to oversee integration of the formerly belligerent Rhodesian Security Forces, Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) officially established the Zimbabwe National Army in late 1980, nearly a year after the end of the Rhodesian Bush War.
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhodesia.
Solomon Mujuru, also known by his nom-de-guerre, Rex Nhongo, was a Zimbabwean military officer and politician who led Robert Mugabe's guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. He was an influential figure in Zimbabwe's post-independence politics.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a series of cabinet portfolios and was Mugabe's Vice-President until November 2017, when he was dismissed before coming to power in a coup d'état. He secured his first full term as president in the disputed 2018 general election. Mnangagwa was re-elected in August 2023 general elections with 52.6% of the votes.
Lieutenant General George Peter Walls was a Rhodesian soldier. He served as the Head of the Armed Forces of Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War from 1977 until his exile from the country in 1980.
Air Rhodesia Flight 825 was a scheduled passenger flight that was shot down by the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) on 3 September 1978, during the Rhodesian Bush War. The aircraft involved, a Vickers Viscount named the Hunyani, was flying the last leg of Air Rhodesia's regular scheduled service from Victoria Falls to the capital Salisbury, via the resort town of Kariba.
The Police Support Unit, also known by their nickname of the Black Boots, is a paramilitary wing of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. They were founded as a native police force but later developed into a counter-insurgency unit of the British South Africa Police in Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War. The unit was the only paramilitary unit retained by the Zimbabwe Republic Police after the country's reconstitution as Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) is a Zimbabwean organisation established by former guerrillas of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) who served during the Rhodesian Bush War. While not considered a state entity, the ZNLWVA is dependent on funding and support from Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). In 2005, the government looked into ways to make members of the organisation part of the army of Zimbabwe.
Sebastian Bakare is a Zimbabwean retired Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Harare and former Bishop of Manicaland. He was once engaged in a controversial, drawn-out, and divisive power struggle over the leadership of the Diocese of Harare with Nolbert Kunonga, the former Bishop of Harare, since Kunonga was stripped of his episcopacy in January 2008 by the Province.
Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo was a Zimbabwean nationalist, part of the first group of Gonakudzingwa restriction camp political prisoners, Pioneer Insurance Executive, Business magnate, Academic, philanthropist, conservationist, pioneer Indigenous businessman and entrepreneur.
Dunn Mabika Hove, also known as Paris Checherere was a Zimbabwean military intelligence officer who was one of the leaders of ZANLA, Robert Mugabe's guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. A career soldier, in post-independence Zimbabwe, he went on to have a successful career in the Zimbabwe National Army, serving with distinction in UN and AU led peace keeping missions across Africa.
The 1981 Entumbane uprising, also known as the Battle of Bulawayo or Entumbane II, occurred between 8 and 12 February 1981 in and around Bulawayo, Zimbabwe amid political tensions in the newly independent state. Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas, mainly in the city's western suburb of Entumbane, rebelled, creating a situation that threatened to develop into a fresh civil war, barely a year after the end of the Bush War. The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) and other white-commanded elements of the former Rhodesian Security Forces, fighting for the Zimbabwean government as part of the new Zimbabwe National Army, put down the uprising. Groups of Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) fighters attacked both ZIPRA and the government forces during the revolt, which followed a smaller outbreak of fighting between guerrillas in November 1980.
The Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the national defence organisations.
Jesesi Mungoshi is a Zimbabwean actress. She made her debut appearance in 1989, in the film titled, African Journey.
Paradzai Willings Zimondi was a Zimbabwean independence activist and military officer. Zimondi was considered a hero of the Zimbabwean struggle for independence, and he later attained the rank of major general in the Zimbabwean army. After his military retirement, he served for twenty-two years as the Prisons and Corrections Services Commissioner-General for Zimbabwe.
