Kenya Wants Sanctions against Zimbabwe Lifted

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta called on the international community to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe stating the restrictions are hurting the Southern African Nation.

On Wednesday, Kenyatta, termed the sanctions as ‘illegal’ and assured Zimbabwe of Kenya’s continued advocacy to ensure that the restrictions are lifted.

President Kenyatta said “This we consider unfair for these hardships were artificially created and we continue to call on the international community to remove these illegal sanctions.”

He spoke at the State House during a joint press briefing with the visiting Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, shortly after the two Heads of State led their respective delegations in bilateral talks.

The sanctions were imposed in 2003 and earlier by some Western nations, including the United States, because of election rigging and human rights abuses, which some Zimbabweans say are derailing the country economy’s recovery.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has led the calls for protests, alleging Zimbabwe is being punished for the land reform program under the late President Robert Mugabe, which displaced white commercial farmers.

Renewed sanction
The European Union, EU, last month renewed its two-decades-old sanctions against Zimbabwe, citing continued human rights violations and closure of the democratic space.

After the late President Robert Mugabe was toppled in a military coup in 2017, his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa pushed for normalisation of ties with the bloc, but this is yet to bear fruit.

The EU said “the situation in Zimbabwe has not changed under President Mnangagwa, hence the move to extend the embargo.” 

CGTN/Christopher Ojilere