Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican politician Venâncio Mondlane rejected on Saturday claims that the post-election protests were illegal or criminal, questioning whether it still makes sense to use such language at a time when an “inclusive national dialogue” is under way.
“At a moment when the inclusive national dialogue is taking place, does it still make sense to use this kind of language? To say that the protests were violent, illegal and criminal,” Mondlane criticised, during a meeting with members of the Anamola party, which preceded a march in Inhambane province, southern Mozambique.
According to Venâncio Mondlane, president of the National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (Anamola), “the other problem” is the failure to mention the causes that led people to protest.
“When they talk about these protests, they never mention the cause. One of the causes is that, in 2023 and 2024, there was vote rigging, the will of the population was distorted, so the population felt deceived and has the right to protest when one of its rights is violated. The second point is everything that has been happening over the last 50 years, which has led the population to live a miserable life; the people felt that this was also an opportunity to cry out for help,” said Mondlane, also a former presidential candidate.
The Mozambican politician further stated that, for social reasons, the protests were constitutional, legitimate and lawful, but were violently and illegally repressed by the authorities.
“It needs to be made clear that what was violent and criminal was the repression of the protests. The protests were legal, legitimate, they had causes behind them, and those causes are what they do not want to resolve,” said Venâncio Mondlane.
On 18 December, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo described the protests as “violent, illegal and criminal” in a speech in parliament, while presenting, over the course of three hours, the report on the state of the nation.
Two and a half months after the vote, the Constitutional Council proclaimed Daniel Chapo the winner of the presidential election, with 65.17% of the vote in the general elections of 9 October, followed by Venâncio Mondlane with 24%, who has never recognised the results.
Around 400 people died as a result of clashes with the police, post-election conflicts contesting the announced results, which escalated into widespread looting of companies and public institutions, stoppages and road barricades. These events came to an end after meetings between Mondlane and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on 23 March.
Last Friday, Daniel Chapo expressed a desire to put an end to the historical pattern of violence that occurs after electoral processes and to turn Mozambique into a “normal” and permanently stable country, through an inclusive dialogue.
“With dialogue, we want Mozambique to stop cyclically experiencing the spectre of violence, especially after the electoral processes that we have been carrying out since 1994. We want Mozambique to be a normal and permanently stable country, presumably safe, without fear, where everyone participates in building a bright future for our children and future generations,” said Chapo.
