If you want the remaining ‘sanctions’ lifted, tell the truth first

Tendai Ruben Mbofana

Too many people continue to insist that Zimbabwe is crippled by sweeping sanctions — that the very soul of our nation remains under foreign blockade.

To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08

They demand the “lifting of sanctions,” as if what remains are broad-based economic measures punishing all 16 million Zimbabweans.

But this narrative is not just false — it is deeply misleading. If those calling for removals truly cared about legitimacy and results, they would frame their demands differently.

Telling the truth would be far more effective than cloaking their message in deception.

Let us be clear from the outset: there were never any broad sanctions against Zimbabwe.

ZIDERA, often misleadingly described as ‘sanctions on Zimbabwe,’ has long since been terminated.

As of March 4, 2024, any measures that could be interpreted as sanctions against Zimbabwe had already been removed, leaving only targeted travel and financial restrictions on a handful of individuals and companies.

What remains are targeted measures under the U.S. Global Magnitsky Act: travel and financial restrictions on President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his wife Auxillia, and a few other individuals and entities — including Owen Ncube, Kudakwashe Tagwirei and his company Sakunda Holdings, and Obey Chimuka and Fossil Contracting.

In Europe, Zimbabwe has never been subject to broad economic sanctions.

The European Union has removed its last remaining listed entity and now maintains only an arms embargo, which, according to the EU, does not affect the country’s economy, trade, investment, or ordinary citizens.

Similarly, in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe has never been subject to broad sanctions.

Until May 2025, a handful of individuals and one entity, Zimbabwe Defence Industries, were subject to targeted financial and travel restrictions, but these have now been removed.

What remains is only the legal framework governing trade in military and dual-use goods, including an arms embargo, which does not affect Zimbabwe’s economy, ordinary businesses, or citizens.

Yet when some leaders and vocal “anti-sanction” activists insist we are still under harsh sanctions, they are perpetuating a falsehood.

This distortion matters.

Because when people believe we are under a crippling regime of sanctions, they absolve the government of accountability.

They excuse failed governance, corruption, and economic decay by pointing the finger at external actors rather than at our own leadership.

If the voices calling for “sanctions removal” were honest, they would stop hiding behind euphemisms and half-truths.

They would plainly demand: lift the travel and financial sanctions on Mnangagwa, his inner circle, and their business cronies.

That, and only that, is what remains.

Say it as it is.

There is no credible call for a blanket lifting of sanctions because nothing of that sort exists anymore.

Truth matters.

When you package a political demand in a cloak of deceit, people instinctively resist — they smell the manipulation.

The moment you call out your actual targets, your cause becomes more credible.

You are no longer defending nebulous “the people” against an external conspiracy; you are challenging specific individuals with real power.

That resonates.

Let us also remind those who cling to the old narrative: even the UN Special Rapporteur on sanctions, Dr. Alena Douhan, acknowledged in her 2021 report that much of the hardship attributed to “sanctions” was caused by over-compliance.

Foreign banks and companies, she explained, responded with exaggerated caution beyond what the restrictive measures actually required.

In other words, much of the suffering was not due to legal restrictions but to self-imposed avoidance — and even that was “unintended.”

Her dilemma was not that sanctions broadly targeted Zimbabweans, but that private actors went further than the measures demanded, causing collateral damage.

Let us also talk about those in power here at home who cling to the “sanctions excuse.”

Over two decades, the narrative that sanctions are strangling Zimbabwe has become a political lifeline for ZANU-PF.

As poverty deepens and mismanagement becomes more obvious, the regime resorts again and again to external blame.

Even now, when restrictions remain only on a few individuals, whenever things go wrong, the government still claims it is because Zimbabwe is “sanctioned.”

This is not just disingenuous — it is a deliberate dodge used to shield rulers from scrutiny.

Even pro-regime activist Rutendo Matinyarare, who has repeatedly emphasized that sanctions on Zimbabwe have been removed, is publicly mauled on social media by presidential spokesperson George Charamba.

The regime’s obsession with keeping the sanctions narrative alive is clear: it is a convenient scapegoat for failures and a way to distract from worsening poverty, corruption, and economic mismanagement.

Take, for example, the recent remarks by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.

During his visit to Harare, he insisted that “sanctions” were limiting what Zambia and Zimbabwe could do together.

Yet in his speech, he offered no concrete example of how trade, investment, or cooperation is being blocked because of these so-called sanctions — because there is none.

This comes after Hichilema’s previous public positions, including openly supporting opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and endorsing the SADC Election Observation Mission, which in 2023 declared Zimbabwe’s elections fell short of regional democratic standards under the leadership of Zambian Dr. Nevers Mumba.

Hichilema’s repetition of the sanctions narrative appears aimed at appeasing Mnangagwa, twisting truths to mend fences rather than reflecting reality.

What exactly can Zambia and Zimbabwe not do together because of travel restrictions on Mnangagwa, his wife, Tagwirei, Chimuka, Ncube, and a few others?

Are we to believe Zambia–Zimbabwe trade is crippled because two private companies — Sakunda Holdings and Fossil Contracting — are restricted?

That is simply not serious.

Imagine if advocates were courageous enough to state their true message: we demand the removal of travel and financial restrictions on particular people.

That admission would strip away the veneer of victimhood and force a real conversation about reform, accountability, and governance.

It might even be more persuasive to the international community and to ordinary Zimbabweans.

If the message is precise, the campaign becomes more believable.

By contrast, clinging to the myth of monolithic “sanctions on Zimbabwe” weakens the argument.

It alienates those who know better.

And worst of all, it allows the real issue — corruption, poor leadership, and lack of accountability — to remain unchallenged.

In the final analysis, we must demand honesty.

If people truly want “sanctions lifted,” let them say: lift the sanctions on Mnangagwa and his cronies.

Anything else is political theatre.

And we, as Zimbabweans, deserve more than theatre.

We deserve truth, clarity, and genuine accountability.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/