By Ziyah News Reporter
As relations between London and Harare continue to thaw, The UK has lifted sanctions on four Zimbabwean officials; Owen Ncube, Isaac Moyo, Godwin Matanga, and Anselem Sanyatwe. Sanctions against the Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) have also been dropped.
The four, all senior security officials at the time, were sanctioned by the UK in 2021 in reaction to the army’s post-election shootings of 2018 and the crackdown on protests in January 2019 where the country had to endure an internet blackout as part of the measures to deal with the unrest.
On its latest move, the UK says: “The revocations follow a similar move from the European Union in February 2025, when they delisted their last remaining entity (ZDI) while renewing their existing Zimbabwe sanctions framework. The US also removed a number of designations in March 2024.”
The two countries have had an acrimonius relationship since 2000 when Zimbabwe embarked on the fast track land reform program which did not sit well with the former colonial master, responding with a litany of economic and individual sanctions which have been updated and reviewed periodically since then. The latest removal of the four high officials along with the Zimbabwe Defense Industry is seen as progressive move that will further accelerate re-engagement between the two countries whose ties are difficult to ignore.