Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican president, Daniel Chapo, said today that terrorism and post-election protests were crucial challenges to state security, which, along with factors such as the recent actions of traditional Naparama guerrillas, are delaying the country’s economic independence.
“Among these challenges, we can mention, for example, the terrorist attacks in some districts of Cabo Delgado province, some disturbances that disturb social harmony and tranquillity in some areas perpetrated by self-proclaimed Naparama, and some remnants of the disruption of public order and security characterized by illegal, violent, and criminal demonstrations,” President Chapo said in Maputo.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony for the new members of the National Defence and Security Council (CNDS), the advisory body on security issues in Mozambique, the head of state also listed among his concerns transnational crimes, climate change, the effects of international economic crises, the need to consolidate the country’s internal macroeconomic stability, social cohesion, and the elimination of instability in a context of political diversity.
“These challenges we have just mentioned, in addition to endangering our political independence, threaten the implementation of our government’s agenda, which consists of laying the foundations for our economic independence,” added Daniel Chapo.
The CNDS members who took office today include Mariano Matsinha and Joaquim Muhlanga, appointed by the President of the Republic, while Jacinto Veloso, Marina Pachinuapa, António Hama Thai, Melba Fumo, and Olímpio Cambona were elected by the Assembly of the Republic.
Also included, by virtue of their functions, are the ministers of Defence, of the Interior, of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, of Finance, of Transport and Logistics, of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries, of Communications and Digital Transformation, the Director of the Secret Service (SISE), the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and the Chief of Police.
The Naparama, traditional warriors respected in communities in the north and centre of the country, emerged during the civil war in the 1980s, combining traditional knowledge and mystical elements to combat their enemies.
On July 7, a police officer and two members of the Naparama group died during a confrontation in the Angoche district, in the Mozambican province of Nampula, as reported the same day by Lusa.
Historically, the Naparama classify themselves as a force that spontaneously organized for the population’s self-defence in wartime, and their members undergo initiation rites designed to grant them alleged “supernatural protection,” which they believe makes them immune, even to bullets.
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