US President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday, in conjunction with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s announcement of sanctions against Zimbabwe, that terminated the 2005 national emergency declared in respect to Zimbabwe. Those sanctioned include Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his wife and First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, and other government officials. 

In the treasury’s press release, they levied several accusations against Mnangagwa, including corruption, high involvement in gold and diamond smuggling rings, bribery and facilitating corrupt business networks, especially involving his close collaboration with businessman Kudakwashe Regimond Tagwirei, who is already designated by the department. Further reasons for the new sanctions include allegations of severe human rights abuses pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which was introduced by former President Donald Trump in 2017 as a means for the US to impose sanctions on countries with human rights abuses so severe they threaten the national security and economy of the US. Zimbabwe’s first lady has been accused of aiding and facilitating her husband’s activities. 

In response to the newly announced measures, Mnangagwa’s spokesperson Nick Mangwana wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that “as long as senior leadership is under sanctions, we are all under sanctions.” 

The US is not the only entity to express concern about the current state of corruption in Zimbabwe. Following the national elections in 2023, Human Rights Watch stated that the government had failed to ensure free and fair elections. Zimbabwean opposition leader Nelson Chamisa announced his resignation from his party due to the overwhelming corruption of the government and its use of force against its citizens.