WASHINGTON (CN) — Zimbabwe has detained, interrogated and forcefully deported several aid workers from the southern African country, U.S. officials said Friday.
The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development said the incidents happened in February to USAID officials and contractors but did not say how many employees were involved.
“These unjustifiable actions render hollow the Government of Zimbabwe’s claims that it is committed to the reforms necessary for democratic governance and reengagement with the international community,” USAID Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement. “The people of Zimbabwe deserve better.”
The news comes a few days after Washington revamped its Zimbabwe sanctions to target President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other government officials for alleged corruption and human-rights abuses.
The State Department said the officials were part of a team conducting an assessment “of the development and governance context in Zimbabwe.” Power said the assessment would help inform decisions about the agency’s support for civic participation, democratic institutions and human rights in the country.
The agency, which oversees billions in U.S. foreign aid, pumped $315.8 million into Zimbabwe in fiscal year 2022.
Team members faced “aggressive handling, prolonged interrogation and intimidation, unsafe and forced nighttime transportation, overnight detention and confinement, and forced removal from the country,” the State Department said.
Power said U.S. government officials and citizens have faced similar “serious incidents” over the past two years.
The State Department added that detentions and deportations were “egregious, unjustified and unacceptable.”
“The Government of Zimbabwe has said it wants to pursue international reengagement and democratic reforms,” the statement said. “Its actions undermine those claims. We take the safety and security of U.S. citizens seriously and demand accountability from the Government of Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe doesn’t have a strong history of robust democracy. Its modern state emerged at the end of white-minority rule in 1980, when Robert Mugabe became prime minister and the country’s name was changed from Southern Rhodesia.
Mugabe ruled for the next 37 years, consolidating power and eroding the independence of other parts of the government. His rule was marked with repression, corruption and economic decline.
In 2017, the military seized power and arrested the aging Mugabe. Mugabe resigned, and Mnangagwa, one of his longtime associates, was sworn in as president.
Mnangagwa won his first term in 2018 in an election marred by irregularities. He ostensibly won a second term last year, although the U.S. condemned the results.
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