HARARE – The United States government has imposed a travel ban on a retired army general who commanded soldiers blamed for the shooting deaths of six people in post-election violence in August last year.

Lieutenant General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, who was recently posted to Tanzania as Zimbabwe’s ambassador, will be banned from travelling to the United States together with his wife, Chido Machona.

In a statement on Thursday, the US State Department said the personal sanctions on Sanyatwe were “due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights.”

“Section 7031(c) of the FY 2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States,” the State Department said.

“The Department has credible information that Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe was involved in the violent crackdown against unarmed Zimbabweans during post-election protests on August 1, 2018, that resulted in six civilian deaths.”

The State Department noted that to date, the government of Zimbabwe has not held any member of the security forces accountable for the killings.

“Furthermore, there has been no accountability for the excessive use of force by Zimbabwean security forces on civilians in January and February this year, which reportedly resulted in at least 13 deaths, 600 victims of violence, torture or rape, and more than 1,000 arrests. We again call on Zimbabwean authorities to hold accountable those officials responsible for human rights violations and abuses in Zimbabwe,” the State Department urged.

Opposition supporters demanding the prompt release of election results marched through Harare’s streets on August 1, two days after voting ended.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa deployed soldiers commanded by Sanyatwe. The soldiers fired upon the protesters indiscriminately, killing at least six people and wounding 35 others, a commission of inquiry concluded.

Sanyatwe was twice promoted by Mnangagwa after the massacre, and left the military with the second highest rank.