Zvinavashe, 60, President Robert Mugabe's trusted defense forces commander, was a senior guerrilla fighter in the southern African country's liberation struggle against white colonial rule in the 1970s.

State radio and the Herald newspaper said Zvinavashe is to quit at the end of December after nine years in the post.

The announcement comes days after Mugabe told his ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patritic Front (ZANU-PF) party that he planned overhaul his cabinet.

Zvinavashe's retirement from the top military post would leave him available to take over as vice president, one of the country's two vice presidencies left vacant by the death in September of Simon Muzenda at the age of 81.

Independent media have pointed to Zvinavashe as a likely candidate to replace Muzenda, which would put him in line to succeed Mugabe, in power since

The Financial Gazette last week speculated that the military chief would retire in December "and embark on a political career laid before him by the ruling party bigwigs.

"But until he removes the uniform, the army commander is not eligible to contest the political seat," the weekly noted.

Mugabe has described Zvinavashe as "a humble man but formidable character, extremely courageous, dependable, (and) principled."

It was during his term in the military office that Zimbabwe took part in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

At one time Zimbabwe had up to 12,000 troops fighting alongside the DRC government forces against Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed rebels.

"It took men like him for us to be able to establish ourselves firmly on the ground as a military force to reckon with," said Mugabe at a farewell party for Zvinavashe on Monday.

WAR.WIRE