{"id":98701,"date":"2026-03-24T16:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha"},"modified":"2026-03-24T17:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T17:07:50","slug":"council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha","title":{"rendered":"Council of State Lifts Immunity of Mondlane and Forquilha"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

What You Need to Know<\/h4>\n

Mozambique’s Council of State has lifted the immunity of councillors Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane and Albino Forquilha, allowing them to face charges related to post-election protests. Mondlane, a former presidential candidate, is accused of inciting collective disobedience and terrorism, which he denies. The Supreme Court will oversee the trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Africa-Press – Mozambique. <\/strong> <\/span>Mozambique\u2019s Council of State has lifted the immunity of councillors Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane and Albino Forquilha in the case in which the former presidential candidate is accused in connection with post-election protests, the president of the Podemos party told Lusa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the investigation of the case involving Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane, I was also always called to respond to a number of matters, given that I am responsible for managing the registration [2024 presidential candidacy], as president of Podemos,\u201d Albino Forquilha told Lusa.<\/p>\n

Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane said at the beginning of March that the five criminal cases in which he is accused in connection with the post-election protests have already been sent to the Supreme Court, which will try the cases, declaring himself ready for trial.<\/p>\n

In July, the former presidential candidate was charged by the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office with five crimes in connection with the protests, including incitement to collective disobedience and incitement to terrorism, which he denies.<\/p>\n

The Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office attributes to Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane \u201cmaterial and moral authorship, in real concurrence of offences\u201d, of the crimes of public apology for crime, incitement to collective disobedience, public incitement to a crime, incitement to terrorism, and encouragement of terrorism.<\/p>\n

The leader of Podemos, now the largest opposition party in Mozambique, and Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane, a former presidential candidate, have been members of the Council of State since September. However, the body approved the removal of their immunity, at the request of the Supreme Court, at its meeting on 19 March, so that they may be heard in this case, a decision that has not been publicly disclosed or explained in detail to date.<\/p>\n

Lusa contacted the Supreme Court for clarification on the purpose of the request to lift immunity, whether for the scheduling of a trial or a preliminary hearing, but without success so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, the Council of State agreed, and it could not have been otherwise. If we want the State to function properly, it is necessary to respect these steps. That is how it happened, and we are willing to be heard,\u201d said Forquilha.<\/p>\n

At the time of the swearing-in of Podemos deputies in January 2025, until then an extra-parliamentary party, Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane broke ties and founded a new party, Anamola, in August.<\/p>\n

However, throughout this period, Forquilha has been heard by the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office in the same case as Mondlane, given Podemos\u2019 support in the October 2024 elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn all these steps, there were a number of issues I had to respond to. (…) I have no information on that formal accusation [against Forquilha], but there are a number of elements in the case to which I must respond on behalf of the institution. I am also part of this hearing. It was in this context that immunity was lifted for both,\u201d Forquilha added.<\/p>\n

Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane previously stated that he wished to go to trial: \u201cLet there be a trial, which I know will be the trial of the century in Mozambique. I am ready, I will go there happily, laughing, smiling and without any remorse, I am ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

As provided for in the Mozambican Constitution, as the second most voted presidential candidate, Mondlane took up his seat on 1 September on the Council of State, which grants immunity to its members and which can be lifted by the body itself.<\/p>\n

In October, Mondlane said he wanted his immunity to be lifted in order to be tried.<\/p>\n

Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane has never recognised the results of the general elections of 9 October 2024, which were followed, after the 21st of the same month \u2014 when he left the country citing security reasons \u2014 by more than five months of nationwide protests and social unrest, resulting in 400 deaths.<\/p>\n

Daniel Chapo, who took office as Mozambique\u2019s fifth President in January 2025, and Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane met for the first time since the elections on 23 March of that year. The following day, the former presidential candidate called for an end to the violence, and no cases of social unrest linked to the electoral dispute have been recorded since then.<\/p>\n

The political landscape in Mozambique has been tumultuous, especially following the controversial general elections of October 2024. Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane, who was the second most voted presidential candidate, has consistently rejected the election results, leading to widespread protests and unrest across the country. These protests resulted in significant casualties and highlighted the deep divisions within Mozambican society regarding governance and electoral integrity. The lifting of immunity for Mondlane and Forquilha marks a significant moment in Mozambique’s ongoing political struggles, as it allows for legal accountability amid calls for justice and reform.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Mozambique<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What You Need to Know Mozambique’s Council of State has lifted the immunity of councillors Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane and Albino Forquilha, allowing them to face charges related to post-election protests. Mondlane, a former presidential candidate, is accused of inciting collective disobedience and terrorism, which he denies. The Supreme Court will oversee the trial. Africa-Press – Mozambique. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":98700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[8424,8426,8425,283,6666],"class_list":["post-98701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-albino-forquilha","tag-council-of-state","tag-immunity","tag-mozambique","tag-venancio-mondlane"],"yoast_head":"\nCouncil of State Lifts Immunity of Mondlane and Forquilha - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Council of State in Mozambique has lifted the immunity of Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane and Albino Forquilha amid legal accusations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Council of State Lifts Immunity of Mondlane and Forquilha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Council of State in Mozambique has lifted the immunity of Vena\u0302ncio Mondlane and Albino Forquilha amid legal accusations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T16:30:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T17:07:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2026\/03\/sm_1774371699.937942.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Council of State Lifts Immunity of Mondlane and Forquilha\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T16:30:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T17:07:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha\"},\"wordCount\":848,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2026\/03\/sm_1774371699.937942.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Albino Forquilha\",\"Council of State\",\"immunity\",\"Mozambique\",\"Ven\u00e2ncio Mondlane\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/council-of-state-lifts-immunity-of-mondlane-and-forquilha\",\"name\":\"Council of State Lifts Immunity of Mondlane and Forquilha - 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