US sanctions Zimbabwe president

The United States has imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa for corruption and human rights abuses.

The US also sanctioned 10 other people and three businesses on the same allegation.

Those on the list include First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri.

Various other senior security officials, including members of Zimbabwe’s national police and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), are also targeted - as are businesspeople found to have facilitated state corruption.

They include presidential advisor Kudakwashe Tagwirei, his wife and two of their businesses.

The order blocked their assets in the US and barred them from unofficial travel there.

The new sanctions replace a broader programme that was introduced two decades ago.

“We continue to witness gross abuses of political, economic, and human rights,” the White House said in a statement.

“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,” it added.

“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.”

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, meanwhile cited “multiple cases of abductions, physical abuse, and unlawful killing” in Zimbabwe that had left people “living in fear”.

The White House said it was “refocusing and elevating its efforts to hold accountable the individuals and entities that are responsible for this exploitation”.

(With inputs from agencies)