By A Correspondent-President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to deny national hero status to the late retired Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) spokesperson, Colonel Cladious Makova, has sparked unease within Zanu PF circles—reviving unresolved tensions from the party’s factional wars of the 2000s.
Makova, who died last Sunday, was declared a liberation hero and buried at his farm in Mkwasine, Chiredzi, on Saturday. Despite his impressive military credentials and political service, observers say his sidelining from the National Heroes Acre was political—and rooted in his association with the late General Solomon Mujuru, Mnangagwa’s long-time rival in Zanu PF’s succession battles.
Best remembered for his influential role as ZNA spokesperson in the 1990s, Colonel Makova helped overhaul the army’s battered public image during a turbulent era. At a time when the military was embroiled in allegations of looting, civilian abuse, and mysterious road crashes involving senior officers, Makova’s calm and disciplined media presence projected professionalism and accountability.
His military career was equally distinguished. Trained in Tanzania and Romania in the late 1970s, and later rising through the ranks to become ZNA’s Director of Public Relations, Makova was seen as a steady hand during volatile times. His commitment was further demonstrated through academic qualifications in public relations, journalism, psychology, and personnel management.
Yet despite his decorated record, Makova’s fate was likely sealed by his perceived allegiance to General Mujuru. The late Mujuru, a revered liberation war commander, was a central figure in a faction of Zanu PF that resisted Mnangagwa’s ascendancy. In the early 2000s, Makova was increasingly viewed as aligned with the Mujuru faction, a perception that gained traction when he was fired by then-President Robert Mugabe in 2014—at the same time as former Vice President Joice Mujuru, Solomon’s widow.
Mnangagwa is widely believed to have masterminded the purge of the Mujuru faction from Zanu PF, consolidating his grip on power in the process. His takeover came amid a wave of suspicious deaths involving senior army officials—often classified as road accidents—that some insiders believe were targeted eliminations of Mujuru-linked military officers. These unexplained deaths preceded General Mujuru’s own mysterious demise in a house fire in 2011.
Although Makova was never publicly accused of factional activities, his fall from grace and eventual removal in 2014 suggested a deeper political undercurrent. Sources say his exclusion from the National Heroes Acre was not an oversight but a deliberate act by Mnangagwa to continue isolating figures tied to the Mujuru legacy.
Despite the political snub, Makova’s legacy remains secure. He is remembered for strengthening the army’s relationship with the media and stabilising its public image at a time of crisis. After his retirement from the army, he served as MP for Bikita West, where he focused on grassroots development—building schools and clinics for his community.
Colonel Makova may have been denied the highest honour in death, but in the eyes of many Zimbabweans, he lived—and served—with quiet distinction.