The United Kingdom has imposed travel bans, asset freezes and other economic sanctions on four Zimbabwean security chiefs whom it accuses of being responsible for serious human rights violations in the southern African country.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Monday that his government has decided to slap sanctions on Zimbabwe’s State Security Minister Owen Ncube, intelligence chief Isaac Moyo, police commissioner general Godwin Matanga and Presidential Guard commander Anselem Sanyatwe.
“These sanctions send a clear message that we will hold to account those responsible for the most egregious human rights violations, including the deaths of innocent Zimbabweans,” Raab said in a statement.
The sanctions mean that the officials are no longer able to “freely travel to the UK, channel money through UK banks or profit from our economy”, he said, adding that the “restrictive measures are not targeted at, nor intended to impact, the wider economy and the people of Zimbabwe.”
Raab said the four are allegedly accountable for the deaths of 23 Zimbabwean protestors since 2018.
“These targeted designations hold to account those responsible for the worst human rights violations against the people of Zimbabwe since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in November 2017.
“This includes a state-sponsored crackdown against protests in January 2019 that resulted in the deaths of 17 Zimbabweans and post-election violence in August 2018 in which six protestors lost their lives,” he said.
The Zimbabwean government is yet to respond to the latest action by the UK.
JN/APA