THE United States Treasury Department announced on Tuesday it was imposing sanctions against attorney general, Johannes Tomana, accusing him undermining democracy in the country.

The designation bars U.S. companies and individuals from engaging in transactions with Tomana, and freezes any assets he holds under U.S. jurisdiction.

The US said Tomana was undermining the rule of law by presiding over the selective prosecution of President Robert Mugabe’s political opponents.

"(His) targeting of selected political opponents threatens the rule of law in Zimbabwe, harms the integrity of the government ... and counters the will of Zimbabwean people who have expressed their desire to build a democratic society," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Tomana joins the list of senior Zanu PF and government officials as well as state-run companies targeted with sanctions for allegedly engaging in actions or policies the US claims “undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic processes or institutions”.

Tomana was appointed to the position of Attorney General by President Mugabe in December 2008.

However the appointment is the subject of a bitter dispute between Mugabe and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai who argues he was not consulted.

Tsvangirai insists Mugabe should consult him before making any senior government appointments claiming this is an express provision of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which both signed to facilitate formation of the coalition government.

However, Mugabe dismisses Tsvangirai’s reservations and insists Tomana’s appointment and that of central bank governor, Gideon Gono, were constitutional.

The Zanu PF leader has also threatened to seize US and European companies operating in Zimbabwe if the sanctions are not removed.

He has also refused to continue negotiations with his coalition partners regarding the implementation of the GPA accusing them of not doing enough to get the sanctions lifted.