Zimbabweans across the World have celebrated their Independence Day which falls on the 18th of April with a call for Africa to rise and demand an end to western economic sanctions hurting the majority of the poor in the former British colony.

According to Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Malawi Nancy Saungweme, the sanctions are illegal and must be removed.

Zimbabwe marked its 42nd independence anniversary on Monday with President Emmerson Mnangagwa presiding over the national celebrations in the second largest city of Bulawayo. This is the first time in the history of the country that such celebrations have been held outside the capital Harare.

In 2002 and 2003, the United States imposed targeted measures on the Government of Zimbabwe, including financial and visa sanctions against selected individuals, a ban on transfers of defence items and services, and a suspension of non-humanitarian, government-to-government assistance.

Source:MBC