
General Emmanuel Matatu

Lieutenant General Walter Tapfumaneyi

Air Marshal John Jacob Nzvede
ZIMBABWE DEFENCE FORCES
SINCE 1980
The existence and mandate of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) is enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The ZDF was set up by the integration of three belligerent forces, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) on one side and the Rhodesian Security Forces (RSF) on the other, at the end of the War of Liberation in 1980. The integration period saw the formation of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) as separate entities.
The year 1994 saw the establishment of a centralised command for the ZDF. General Vitalis Zvinavashe became the first Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces, with the commanders of both the Army and the Air force falling under his command. Following his retirement in December 2003, General Constantino Guvheya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga, was promoted and appointed Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces. General Philip Valerio Sibanda replaced him as Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces in 2017.














