By Farai D Hove| ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday responded to US President Donald Trump’s assistive ZIDERA sanctions by saying “we took back our land,” a reference to the violent destructive land reform program that has grounded Zimbabwe’s food economy.
Speaking in Gutu, Mnangagwa said:
“You may have heard that the US renewed its sanctions on us. There is nothing new there. We have been with these sanctions for the past 20 years. These are the same sanctions they have renewed. As Zimbabwe, we have a policy of engagement and re-engagement. The whole of Sadc is standing with us. You may recall that on October 25, 2019, Sadc countries in their respective countries had various programmes calling the Americans to remove their sanctions on Zimbabwe.
“All embassies of Sadc countries and the African Union (AU) also did the same. When we went to the United Nations in September last year, our continental organisation, the African Union told the UN to call for the removal of all forms of sanctions on Zimbabwe.”
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe would continue calling for the unconditional lifting of the sanctions saying the sanctions were unjustified.
Mnangagwa said he has not committed any crime against the Americans or the British. In any case, he said, it was the British who wronged Zimbabwe by grabbing its land.
“Actually, it’s the British who committed a crime against us when they came here and took our land,” he said.
He continued saying: “We waged the armed struggle and took back our land and said they (British) should also go back to their country. They were not happy with that, but the land reform programme is irreversible and to us it’s a closed chapter. Those who want to be our friends should befriend us knowing that land reform is irreversible. We are not going back on that. Embrace us as we are, then we work together like that.”