Brit MPs in U-turn over Zim

THE British parliamentary All-Party Group on Zimbabwe has softened its anti-Zimbabwe stance and is warming up to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Government by expressing willingness to work with Harare.

The APGZ is a coalition of UK parliamentarians that has supported the opposition and civil society organisations opposed to the Zanu-PF Government. The group, which was central in pushing punitive action against Zimbabwe after the country initiated land reforms, says it will welcome Zimbabwe re-joining the Commonwealth.

Labour parliamentarian Ms Kate Hoey, who chairs APGZ and played a key role in pushing European Union sanctions on Zimbabwe, recently told The Sunday Mail that they were open to re-engagement.

Responding to our emailed questions, she said: “The APGZ has of course discussed the removal of (Robert) Mugabe. We welcome this and we hope that Zimbabwe has a better future.

“Some proof of whether there is real change will be whether the coming elections can be held in an atmosphere of peaceful campaigning without the intimidation and violence and voter fraud so common in previous elections ... It would be good if Zimbabwe re-joined the Commonwealth.”

President Mnangagwa has formally informed Britain of Harare’s intention to re-join the Commonwealth this year, and has dispatched technical teams to London to kickstart comprehensive bilateral and multilateral re-engagement.

British Prime Minister Mrs Theresa May has deployed a special envoy, Mrs Harriet Baldwin - her Minister for Africa - to concretise normalisation of the two country’s relations.

The visit was Mrs Baldwin’s first overseas engagement as Britain’s Minister for Africa and came less than three months after her predecessor Mr Rory Stewart met President Mnangagwa soon after his inauguration in Harare on November 24, 2017.

Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003 at the height of diplomatic tensions between Harare and London over land reforms.