EU lifts ban on Zimbabwe arms maker

BRUSSELS, Belgium

The European Union has removed Zimbabwe’s only weapons manufacturer from its sanctions list as Brussels continues to ease its 23-year-old embargo on the Southern African country.

Zimbabwe has been under EU sanctions since 2002 for alleged human rights violations and electoral fraud.

Brussels on Wednesday said it had lifted the asset freeze on the Zimbabwe Defence Industries, the last entity that was still on its sanctions list.

But the bloc will maintain an embargo on arms and equipment that could be used for internal repression until February 2026, the Council of the European Union said in a statement.

“The EU continues to closely follow developments in Zimbabwe, with particular attention to the human rights situation and recalls its readiness to adapt the whole range of its policies accordingly,” the statement said.“The remaining restrictive measures in place do not affect the people of Zimbabwe, its economy, foreign direct investments or trade.”

The sanctions were imposed after then Zimbabwean ruler Robert Mugabe expelled the EU election observer mission ahead of the controversial 2002 presidential election.

Over the years, the EU has been gradually easing the restrictions, leaving only the ZDI asset freeze until the latest review.

The EU insists that it does not have trade restrictions on Zimbabwe, but Brussels does not channel development aid through the government.

Besides the EU, Zimbabwe has also been under sanctions from the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The United Kingdom also introduced its own set of sanctions after Brexit, which targets security chiefs accused of abetting human rights violations.

Last year, the US ended its two-decades-old sanction regime against Harare and re-imposed new measures against President Emmerson Mnangagwa for alleged gross human rights violations and corruption.

President Mnangagwa, in power since the 2017 coup that toppled Mr Mugabe, became the first sitting head of State to be designated by the US under its Global Magnitsky Programme, along with his wife Auxilia.

His deputy, General (rtd) Constantino Chiwenga, is also on the list, which has nine individuals and two companies.

Washington changed its sanctions to show that the curbs are not targeted at Zimbabwe following serious lobbying by the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders.

Other people targeted in the new measures are Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri, a top intelligence official Walter Tapfumaneyi, former State Security minister Owen Ncube and businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei as well as his wife Sandra.

Mr Tagwirei, a wealthy businessman who has won several multimillion-dollar government contracts, is a presidential adviser and a financier of the ruling Zanu PF party.

The US first imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2003 after accusing the regime of the late Mugabe of electoral fraud and human rights violations. Individuals linked to the government were banned from travelling to America and their assets were at risk of being seized.

Zimbabwe was also blocked from accessing funding from multilateral bodies that had US nationals on their boards.

In recent years, African countries led by South Africa, have been lobbying for the removal of the sanctions which, they say, are also hurting Zimbabwe’s neighbours, as its nationals are flocking to other countries to escape economic hardship.

The West says the sanctions can only be lifted completely if President Mnangagwa’s government institutes political and economic reforms.

Zimbabwe insists that it is being punished for embarking on a land reform programme that saw productive farms being transferred from the minority white population to the majority blacks.

SADC countries argue that the sanctions have taken a toll on Zimbabwe’s economy and this has forced millions of people to migrate to neighbouring countries, which puts a strain on their own service delivery.