ZAST mourns national hero Tomana

Sunday Mail Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Anti-Sanctions Trust (ZAST) has described national hero Ambassador Johannes Tomana as an unwavering patriot, who helped in the fight against the illegal sanctions.

Ambassador Tomana — who was ZAST patron since 2015, when he was serving as the country’s Prosecutor-General — died on August 6 after a short illness.

He was 56.

The anti-sanctions body said Ambassador Tomana contributed immensely towards lobbying against the illegal sanctions, in Parliament.

“Ambassador Tomana stood firm against the illegal sanctions till his last day. He did not depart from his values of patriotism.

“Over the years, our patron was a source of direction, encouragement and hope,” said ZAST.

“Not only did he guide us in lobbying for the removal of sanctions, but also in taking a stance to promote patriotism, hard work and resilience amongst our people.”

The organisation said it was quick to put Ambassador Tomana’s advice into practice, which saw it achieving a lot under his guidance.

“It was at the advice of the patron that ZAST fought the sanctions battle from the legal front by petitioning the Parliament of Zimbabwe to consider and pass relevant legislation that inculcates patriotism by criminalising the practice of calling for the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe; and the law has since been gazetted as an amendment to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

“We owe this milestone to our patron,” ZAST said.

ZAST said it also consulted Ambassador Tomana before presenting another petition to Parliament on April 29 last year, pleading with it to set up a Special Anti-Sanctions Commission.

The commission was then tasked with investigating the misperceptions around the sanctions issue, so that policy recommendations could be made.

“The Clerk of Parliament has since confirmed the petition is admissible and will be presented in Parliament soon,” said ZAST.

“We will continue to cherish the patron’s input in the book ‘Sanctions against Zimbabwe: Debilitating effects, resilience in adversity and envisioned way forward’, which was launched by ZAST in 2022 on Anti-Sanctions Day, in our quest to disseminate information about the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe,” it said.

ZAST said, through Ambassador Tomana’s guidance, the organisation has gained international recognition.

Earlier in April, ZAST was invited by the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament to represent the country in an African Peace NGOs and think tanks meeting.