United States President Donald Trump today extended sanctions on Zimbabwe by another year because President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has not improved the country’s human rights record.
The sanctions which have been in force since 2003, and affect about 140 individuals and firms, were due to expire on Friday, 6 March.
In a statement today, Trump said: “In the wake of the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017, Zimbabwe’s national elections in July 2018, and President Mugabe’s subsequent death in September 2019, Zimbabwe has had ample opportunity to implement reforms that could set the country on a constructive path, stabilize the southern African region, and open the door to greater cooperation with the United States.
“Unfortunately, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration has yet to signal credible political will to implement such reforms.
“Indeed, the Zimbabwean government has arguably accelerated its persecution of critics and economic mismanagement in the past year, during which security forces have conducted extrajudicial killings, rapes, and alleged abductions of numerous dissidents.”
The Southern African Development Community and the African Union have called for the removal of the sanctions arguing that they are affecting ordinary Zimbabweans and not just those listed by the United States government.
The European Union recently suspended its sanctions on key people like Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, former First Lady Grace Mugabe and Lands Minister Perrance Shiri.
Britain said it might re-impose sanctions on Grace Mugabe when its agreement with the European Union expires on 31 December this year.
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