ZANU PF South Africa spokesman, Kennedy Mandaza, says new sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe security sector officials are not justified and will harm ordinary Zimbabweans.
Mandaza said the new UK sanctions are not about human rights, but about western countries desire to control the resources of Zimbabwe.
Mandaza said only Zimbabweans should call for human rights and reforms in Zimbabwe.
He said the UK is imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe because of the land reform program that took place starting in 2000.
He said the UK government is not happy because their kith and kin lost land in Zimbabwe, which was their source of livelihood.
He said the UK government is persecuting Zimbabwean officials based on the agenda of achieving regime change.
Compensation
Mandaza said all the issues given as reasons for the new UK sanctions such as the Montlante commission report are already being dealt with by Zimbabwe President, ED Mnangagwa.
He said the government of Zimbabwe is working on compensating victims of the past violence that occured in 2018 and 2019.
Arrests
Mandaza said the arrest of Hopewell Chinóno, Fadzai Mahere, Tendai Biti and Job Sikhala should not be politicized.
He said due process must be allowed to take its course. Mandaza said the arrest of these four is not political, but was in line with the laws of Zimbabwe.
Next Steps
Mandaza said the next step that should be taken by ZANU PF and Zimbabweans is to focus on using the country ‘s abundant resources to develop the country.
He said its clear that Western countries have a hidden agenda.
Dialogue
Mandaza said the door has always been open for all political actors to join POLAD. He said it will be a welcome move if Chamisa, Khupe, Mwonzora and other opposition parties were to join POLAD.
He said the opposition parties should use POLAD to hold the government to account.
UK Sanctions
The UK yesterday announced new sanctions that include travel bans and asset freeze on four security sector officials:
- Owen Ncube, Minister for State Security;
- Isaac Moyo, Director General of the Central Intelligence Organisation;
- Godwin Matanga, Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Republic Police; and
- Anselem Sanyatwe, former Brigadier General, Commander of the Presidential Guard and Tactical Commander of the National Reaction Force.
The UK said the sanctions will not deter investment into Zimbabwe.
The UK government said investors are not coming to Zimbabwe because of a poorly-managed currency; arbitrary property rights and the legal system.
The statement also said the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s January 28 2019 report on the response to the January 2019 fuel protests found that law enforcement agents seemed to “resort to use of brute, excessive and disproportionate force in most circumstances thereby causing avoidable loss of life and also worsening the situation”, resulting in the deaths of 17 people.
A Human Rights Watch report details allegations of r_ape and indiscriminate door-to-door raids by the Zimbabwean security services.
Please watch the video above this post for more details.
