Ahead of the US-Africa Summit, the United States imposed sanctions on four Zimbabweans, including the son of the country's president, for their alleged involvement in corruption and their roles in undermining democracy, the US Treasury Department stated.
The Treasury said it sanctioned Emmerson Mnangagwa Jr., son of Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s president, for his involvement with businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei and his company, Sakunda Holdings. Tagwirei was sanctioned by the US in August 2020 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, logistical, or technical support for the government of Zimbabwe.
According to the Treasury, Emmerson Mnangagwa Jr. was in charge of his father’s business interests related to Tagwirei.
“We urge the Zimbabwean government to take meaningful steps towards creating a peaceful, prosperous, and politically vibrant Zimbabwe, and to address the root causes of many of Zimbabwe’s ills: corrupt elites and their abuse of the country’s institutions for their personal benefit,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian Nelson, adding: “The goal of sanctions is behavior change. Today’s actions demonstrate our support for a transparent and prosperous Zimbabwe.”
The US Treasury also designated Tagwirei's wife Sandra Mpunga, Nqobile Magwizi, and Obey Chimuka, as well as two companies owned by Chumuka, Fossil Agro and Fossil Contracting, for their ties with Tagwirei and Sakunda Holdings.
According to the Treasury's statement, Tagwirei utilized his relations with senior-level Zimbabwean officials to get state contracts and "favored access to hard currency." The businessman, in his turn, provided the goverment officials with various high priced items.
"Since former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s 2017 departure, Tagwirei used a combination of opaque business dealings and his ongoing relationship with President Mnangagwa to grow his business empire dramatically and rake in millions of US dollars," the statement read.
The measures comprise a freezing of all assets the Zimbabweans may have in US jurisdictions, as well as bar US citizens from doing business with them.
At the same time, the Treasury removed seventeen Zimbabweans from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), saying that they "no longer undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic processes and institutions."
The sanctions announcement came one day before the US-Africa Summit, scheduled for December 13-15 in Washington. The summit is expected to focus on strengthening ties between the US and African countries.
Zimbabwe’s president won't attend the gathering due to US travel sanctions imposed against him, while the country will be represented by Foreign Minister Frederick Shava.
Zimbabwe was first hit by the US targeted measures in 2001 and EU sanctions in 2002, following accusations of violence, intimidation of political opponents, and harassment of independent press. The measures included financial and visa sanctions against some individuals, specifically high-level government officials, a ban on the transfers of defense items, and a suspension of government-to-government assistance, except for humanitarian aid.
Officials of the country denied the accusations, calling for the sanctions to be lifted. President Mnangagwa stated that the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe were initially aimed at undermining its economy in order to trigger a coup and form a "puppet government."
7 November 2022, 13:49 GMT
African nations, as well as other countries, including Russia and China, have repeatedly opposed the anti-Zimbabwe sanctions. In particular, they have been an object of criticism from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), being criticized by presidents such as Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Southern African states joined calls by the Zimbabwean government, saying that the sanctions are damaging not only the country's economy, but also have a negative influence on the region's development.
Zimbabwean authorities, as well as international experts, claim that the sanctions have stifled economic development in the country. According to a 2020 SADC report, Zimbabwe had "lost well over $42Bln in revenue over the past 19 years because of the sanctions," with a negative impact on most sectors of the economy and the investment climate.