WASHINGTON (CN) — The U.S. is revamping its sanctions on Zimbabwe to target President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other government officials for alleged corruption and human rights abuses.
President Joe Biden on Monday issued an executive order ending the state of emergency that had governed sanctions policy on Zimbabwe since 2003. Biden used a Trump-era executive order to authorize the new targeted sanctions.
“Although I continue to be concerned with the situation in Zimbabwe, particularly with respect to acts of violence and other human rights abuses against political opponents and with respect to public corruption, including misuse of public authority, the declaration of a national emergency … is no longer needed,” Biden wrote in his executive order.
Former President George W. Bush issued the state of emergency after corrupt elections continued the rule of Robert Mugabe, who became prime minister at the end of white minority rule in 1980. Mugabe ruled for 37 years, consolidating power over time and eroding the independence of other parts of the government.
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 and prevailed last year for a second term, although the U.S. condemned the results.
Monday’s sanctions target 11 government officials and three entities for corruption and human rights abuses. Mnangagwa in particular is accused of providing a “protective shield” to gold and diamond smugglers, directing sales to illicit markets and taking bribes. He’s also targeted for his role overseeing security services that have violently repressed political opponents.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new sanctions are stronger and more targeted than the 2003 policy. He said government officials are involved in “the looting of government coffers that robs Zimbabweans of public resources.”
“Multiple cases of abductions, physical abuse, and unlawful killing have left citizens living in fear,” Blinken said in a statement. “The United States is committed to ensuring our sanctions are relevant, timely, and targeted against those most closely connected to corruption and human rights abuses.”
Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, noted that the executive order removes and does not impose sanctions directly on the country of Zimbabwe or the public.
“The targeting of civil society and severe restrictions on political activity have stifled fundamental freedoms, while key actors, including government leaders, have siphoned off public resources for personal gains,” Watson said in a statement. “These illicit activities support and contribute to a global criminal network of bribery, smuggling, and money laundering that impoverish communities in Zimbabwe, southern Africa, and other parts of the world.”
Farai Muroiwa Marapira, director of information and publicity for the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front party, called the sanctions an “illegality.”
“We still call for all sanctions to be removed unequivocally,” he wrote online. “Only then are we free of this yoke unfairly put on our shoulders.”
Zimbabwe’s government spokesperson Nick Mangwana called Monday’s announcement a “great vindication” of Mnangagwa’s foreign policy.
“That said, as long as our president is under sanctions Zimbabwe remains under illegal sanctions, as long as members of the first family are under sanctions, Zimbabwe remains under illegal sanctions, and as long as senior leadership is under sanctions, we are all under sanctions,” he wrote online. “And as long as members of corporate Zimbabwe are under sanctions, we are under sanctions. “
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller refuted implications that the sanctions were a positive development for the government, saying, “It’s rare that you see a government say that sanctions on the sitting president is a victory for the government.”
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