Staff Reporter
United Kingdom’s Lord Collins of Highbury has urged an international investigation on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) over last year’s rigging reports during harmonised elections that retained President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power.
He said this during a recent heated debate on Zimbabwe sanctions where Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said UK will consider tightening the restrictive measures just like what was recently done by the United States.
“I welcome what the Minister says about targeted sanctions. They are important, but what are we doing to investigate the electoral commission, particularly after the irregularities in the election last year?
“What are we doing about the security leaders, who have been targeting opposition activists? The other thing I will raise again—I know the Minister will expect me to raise it—is the importance of civil society, particularly representation of workers in Zimbabwe, because international trade unions have been concerned about that. If we work with them as well, instead of it being just a British Government voice, we will have a better response in Zimbabwe,” said Lord Collins.
Minister Ahmad concurred.: “The noble Lord is right to raise the elections. He will be aware that several election observers were there, including from the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth’s report is still awaited, but some of the other points that were made—the EU report, for example, concluded that the elections were ‘marked by a curtailment of rights and freedoms’—really lay out the current challenges. Of course we will work with partners on how we can strengthen things. SADC has been raised, but Zimbabwe also has aspirations for the Commonwealth. That provides an opportunity to raise human rights as a key component,” he said.
During the debate, several submissions were made by the UK’s MPs to the Minister to broaden the sanctions regime in Zimbabwe which currently only targets four individuals.
The individuals on current UK sanctions are Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube, director Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) Isaac Moyo, Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga and Zimbabwe National Army Commander Anslem Sanyatwe.
They were placed on sanctions in 2021 for presiding over a crackdown on protests in January 2019 which killed 17 people, and post-election violence of August 1 2018 were six defenceless citizens were murdered by the army in the streets of central Harare during demonstrations.
Lord Bellingham said the UK sanctions must be applied on Mnangagwa, his family and cabinet ministers.
“Indeed, having stolen last year’s election, Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF have harassed, threatened and imprisoned opposition figures, including the very brave Job Sikhala, closed down civil society, and undermined the rule of law.
“Obviously, there is no appetite in this House for economic sanctions, which would really bear down on the people of Zimbabwe, but surely we should now look at tighter and wider smart sanctions, targeted at the ZANU-PF Cabinet, their wives and their cronies. Surely the people of Zimbabwe, which was originally a net exporter of food, deserve better and a brighter future,” he said. Minister Ahmad again concurred.
“My Lords, my noble friend is right. We have been deeply seized by and concerned about the targeting of civil liberties. We engaged with the Government on the PVO amendment Bill before the 2023 elections, and we have seen the so-called patriot Bill, which has limited freedom of expression.
My noble friend will also be aware that the introduction of the global human rights sanctions regime in 2019 allows us to do exactly that: we can specifically target the people who commit egregious abuses of human rights rather than citizens or, indeed, a country,” he said
Lord St John of Bletso asked the minister Ahmad if he agreed that existing sanctions in Zimbabwe have not slowed down Mnangagwa’s repressive regime “and left a vacuum for the Chinese and Russians, who are occupied in mining strategic minerals.”
“Is it not time to convene an all-party parliamentary conference in Zimbabwe to help pave the way for the incumbent Government to be more inclusive and address the reduction of poverty for millions of long-suffering Zimbabweans?” he asked.
Minister Ahmad replied: “My Lords, I assure the noble Lord that part of our approach on sanctions is one element of that: using the levers that we have, in working with key partners, to
ensure that the current Government adopt that inclusive approach.
“The noble Lord is correct: looking at what Africa and particularly Zimbabwe provide, their critical mineral resources are a major opportunity. Zimbabwe is the biggest provider of lithium, along with the DRC. There are opportunities ahead, but it needs a Government who are inclusive and protect the rights not just of those coming in but of their citizens.”
Lord Oates piled more pressure and asked Minister Wimbledon if the UK government would make efforts to reach out to SADC over the crisis in Zimbabwe.
He said such engagement would ensure that there is prosperity in Zimbabwe.
Minister Ahmad said he had recently engaged South African Foreign Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor over the crisis in Zimbabwe.
“We have a strong relationship. We do not agree with South Africa on everything we do or it does, but I recently met with the Foreign Minister of South Africa and we had a very productive and candid exchange,” he said.
South African government supports Mnangagwa’s regime despite contestations over last year’s elections.
Minister Ahmad said he agreed that Zimbabwe has great opportunities, from looking at the people-to-people links with the United Kingdom.
“ . . . it is demonstrable that the sanctions that we and other partners apply are not aimed at either the people or the economy. For example, our trade was £539 million in 2022-23, which is a direct challenge to what is sometimes said—that the sanctions have impacted the economy. What is needed is openness, transparency and accountability.
“I agree with the noble Lord; we will continue to look at our sanctions regimes. That is why I alluded to the global human rights sanctions regime, which allows us the very targeted sanctions, not just in countries such as Zimbabwe but across the world,” he said.
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