AFRICA/MOZAMBIQUE - Further tensions: expectations for the return of the opposition candidate

Maputo (Agenzia Fides) - "If they kill my brothers, I will be there so they can do whatever they want with me". With these words, Venâncio Mondlane, the candidate of the opposition party who claims to have won the presidential elections in Mozambique, announced his return from exile next Thursday, January 9.
The candidate of the opposition party "PODEMOS" (Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique), who came second in the presidential elections on October 9 (see Fides, 9/10/2024), contests the result of the election in which the candidate Daniel Chapo of "FRELIMO" (Mozambican Liberation Front, in power since 1975) won.
In response to Mondlane's call for protest on October 21, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Mozambique. Since then, clashes have broken out between protesters and police, resulting in deaths and injuries. The protests intensified after the Constitutional Court confirmed Chapo's victory on December 23. In addition to the deaths (estimated at 300) and injuries, the opposition complained of arbitrary arrests. About 6,000 prisoners took advantage of the chaos to escape from Maputo prison. At least 30 people died in the clashes between prison guards and prisoners. Chapo's official inauguration is scheduled for January 15. However, Mondlane has stated that he will take office even at the cost of his life. The serious crisis shaking Mozambique is also having serious repercussions in neighboring countries (see Fides, 11/12/2024). Former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has been appointed to lead a Southern African Development Community (SADC) delegation to find a solution. Meanwhile, Mozambique's neighbours are considering concrete measures to protect regional trade routes, humanitarian corridors and cross-border energy supplies. The Mozambican ports blocked by the protests are vital to the eastern regions of South Africa, as well as to Zimbabwe and Malawi. Post-election violence, meanwhile, has already caused thousands of Mozambicans to flee to neighbouring countries. Archbishop João Carlos Hatoa Nunes of Maputo called on the faithful not to give up in the face of this situation. In his homily for the Feast of the Holy Family on December 29, he said: "This is a context of tension and uncertainty that requires resilience, faith and, above all, hope from all of us. Despite the difficulties we face, we are called not to lose hope, but to renew our trust in the change that only God can bring about." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/1/2025)

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