Zimbabwe goes after NGOs ahead of the 2023 elections

Zimbabweans protesting outside their embassy in Pretoria

Zimbabweans protesting outside their embassy in Pretoria in 2020 against lack of media freedom, deteriorating economy. PHOTO | AFP

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is tightening the noose on non-governmental organisations it accuses of pursuing a regime change agenda ahead of crucial elections in 2023.

President Mnangagwa, 79, who came to power after a 2017 coup that toppled founding father and long-time president Robert Mugabe, accuses NGOs of being conduits of money from hostile Western countries, seeking to topple his party.