Zanu-PF activist and avowed supporter of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Energy Mutodi has called for an anti-sanctions law which criminalises the calling for sanctions or the failure to renounce sanctions imposed by foreign nations.
Mutodi suggested that those caught contravening the law should be sentenced to life in prison or death. This comes after Tendai Biti of the opposition MDC Alliance, Human Rights activist Dewa Mavhinga and writer Peter Godwin appeared before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee. Biti did not call for sanctions while Mavhinga asked the Senate to maintain the measures against Zimbabwe until a free and fair election was held.
Writing on Facebook, Mutodi said
It is surprising to note that the opposition that had been calling upon President Mugabe to retire and pave way for his longtime aide Emmerson Mnangagwa is now calling on the international community to withhold support for the new Mnangagwa-led government.
Quite understandable though for an opposition that is desperate for relevance and realizes it will never win elections anytime soon.
Way forward: There is (a) need for an anti-sanctions law that criminalizes the campaign for sanctions to be imposed by foreign nations or institutions on Zimbabwe. The law must also criminalize failure to renounce sanctions already imposed and the sentence must be life imprisonment or death sentence; considering that sanctions lead to undue suffering of masses particularly ordinary people as the nation is isolated and blocked from international humanitarian and budgetary assistance.