Personal life

He was born in 1956 in Hwedza district of Mashonaland East Province. General Chiwenga was educated up to Form 4 at St Mary's Mission in Hwedza, together with Air Marshal Perence Shiri

Perence Shiri

Air Marshal Perence Shiri is the current commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe and a member of the Joint Operations Command which exerts day-by-day control over Zimbabwe's government.Perence Shiri is a cousin of President Robert Mugabe...

 and Brigadier General Shungu, Commander Mechanised Brigade.

Rhodesian Bush War

He joined the war in 1973 and was trained in Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 as a ZANLA militant. Chiwennga adopted the war name of Dominic Kanenge. He rose through the ranks to become a Provincial Commander for Masvingo/Gaza Province deputised by George Chiweshe who was the Provincial Commissar. He was later promoted to the High Command in 1978 to the post of ZANLA Deputy Political Commissar

Political commissar

The political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...

 as Josiah Tungamirai

Josiah Tungamirai

Air Chief Marshal Josiah Tungamirai , born Thomas Mberikwazvo, was a Zimbabwean military officer and politician...

's deputy.

Career in the Zimbabwe military

Chiwenga was nearly ejected from staff college for cheating.

In 1981 he was attested to the newly-formed Zimbabwe National Army

Zimbabwe National Army

The Zimbabwe National Army is the land warfare branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The ZNA currently has an active duty strength of 30,000.-History:...

 as a brigadier

Brigadier

Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....

 commanding First Brigade in Bulawayo

Bulawayo

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...

. He was later promoted to the rank of major general and reverted to his original name of Constantine Chiwenga. On the formation of Zimbabwe Defence forces (ZDF) in 1994 he was promoted to the rank of Lieuenant General and was appointed commander of the Zimbabwe National Army

Zimbabwe National Army

The Zimbabwe National Army is the land warfare branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The ZNA currently has an active duty strength of 30,000.-History:...

 (ZNA). Upon the retirement of General Vitalis Zvinavashe

Vitalis Zvinavashe

Lt. Gen. Vitalis Zvinavashe was a retired former Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and politician. He was also a member of the Politburo of the ZANU-PF...

 in 2004, he was promoted to the rank of General and Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

He is the chairman of the Joint Operations Command

Joint Operations Command

The Joint Operations Command is the supreme organ for the coordination of state security in Zimbabwe. It was established by the Rhodesian government and co-ordinated the counter-insurgency war in the Rhodesian Bush War as well as military incursions into neighbouring countries such as Mozambique...

, which comprises the commanders of ZNA, Prison Services, Central Intelligence Organisation, Zimbabwe Republic Police

Zimbabwe Republic Police

The Zimbabwe Republic Police is the national police force of Zimbabwe, known until July 1980 as the British South Africa Police. -Structure:...

 and the Air Force of Zimbabwe

Air Force of Zimbabwe

The Air Force of Zimbabwe is the air force of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It was known as the Rhodesian Air Force until 1980. The Air Force of Zimbabwe saw service in the Mozambican Civil War in 1985 and the Second Congo War of 1998–2001....

. He participated actively during the Zimbabwe land reform programme and is a beneficiary with a thriving farm near Harare. He and his wife are also on the sanction list for those Zimbabwean officials not allowed to enter EU and the United States.