President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he is travelling to the United Kingdom (UK) to attend the coronation of King Charles III. The Coronation will take place on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey in London.
Mnangagwa told his supporters in Harare:
Hameno zvakahofungwa nemwana waMambokadzi. Mangwana ndoinda kunovona achigadzwa, Charles. Ndikati ko zvino mondikoka kuzovona kugadzwa kwaCharles imwi muna maSanctions zvikahi aah tabvisa vuyai henyu mambo toenda, get respected because we stand our ground.
Loosely translated, Mnangagwa said he didn’t know what the Queen’s son was thinking. He said he is going to the UK tomorrow to attend the coronation of King Charles III. He mentioned asking how he could travel with sanctions in place, but UK authorities told him the sanctions had been removed.
Zimbabwe has been under UK sanctions since the turn of the millennium when the southern African country embarked on the fast-track land reform program which was marred by gross human rights abuses.
In September 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International announced that President Mnangagwa was not on the UK sanctions list and could travel to Britain. This followed reports that he would not attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on September 19, 2022, due to sanctions. A statement from the ministry’s spokesperson, Livit Mugejo, confirmed that Mnangagwa had appointed Frederick Shava to represent him at the state funeral. He said;
Contrary to fake media statements purportedly coming from Buckingham Palace circulating in the social media space, the Ministry would like to put it on record that His Excellency the President Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa and all his Cabinet Ministers are not on the United Kingdom sanctions list.
The President and His Cabinet Ministers can enter and leave the UK at will on business or personal matters.
The UK has over the years reviewed the sanctions list, adding and or removing some individuals or companies linked to the ruling ZANU PF party.
President Mnangagwa is attending King Charles III’s coronation despite calls from the House of Lords in England to cancel his invitation due to alleged human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. He sees the invitation as a positive step towards improving relations between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom. He met with the UK Ambassador to Zimbabwe on April 17 to discuss the matter. However, some British Members of Parliament believe that inviting the Zimbabwean leader was a mistake.