Zimbabweans stage mass protest against Western sanctions

Government supporters chant slogans as they march against Western sanctions at a rally in Harare, Zimbabwe October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been battling to re-engage with the West since Mugabe was ousted by the military in November 2017.

His administration organised a demonstration in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, demanding the lifting of sanctions that have weighed down the country for more than two decades.

Thousands of people gathered for the event — which was declared a national holiday — waving posters and banners as they marched towards the national sports stadium.

Some rode on top of buses, chanting slogans.

“Sanctions are a crime against humanity,” read one banner.

“ZIDERA must go,” said another, referring to sanctions imposed by the United States in 2001, at the height of land reforms that saw hundreds of white-owned farms violently seized.