For the past few days, human rights activist Sidia Chisungo has been poring over images she never expected to see in Mozambique. Teenagers’ eyes swollen shut after Mozambique police hit them with tear gas.
Chisungo, 28, who has been documenting the extent of the ongoing violence since the election that erupted last week, says images of the dead and injured circulating online are making it difficult for him to sleep.
“There was a 16-year-old man who had been shot in the mouth, his mouth was completely destroyed,” Chisungo told Al Jazeera. “There’s just a hole where his mouth used to be. Every time I close my eyes, I see that image in my head.”
This is just one brutal example of how Mozambican youth are paying a deadly price as the country faces its worst post-election violence. Clashes first broke out last Monday after police opened fire on supporters of opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, 50. By Friday, at least 11 people had been killed, many injured, including police officers, and about 400 people had been detained, according to Human Rights Watch.
Thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets again on Thursday in the capital Maputo and other cities, ignoring calls by outgoing President Filipe Nyusi to stay home.
On October 9, 2018, the demonstrators said Daniel Chapo, candidate for the long-ruling Frelimo (Mozambican Liberation Front) party, had won an overwhelming victory in opinion polls, leaving Mondlane, who is popular with young people, a distant second place. I’m angry about the election results. Opposition parties claim there were irregularities in the vote, and election observers also point out several irregularities.
The brutal murder of two of Mondlane’s aides last Saturday also infuriated supporters. Mondlane ran as an independent candidate, but is supported by the extra-parliamentary group Mozambique Development Optimism Party (Podemos).
Karm had just returned to Maputo and other cities this week. People went to work Monday even though evidence of the chaos was still vivid: a police station was burned, downtown businesses were looted, burnt tires littered the streets and election signs were torn up.
But on Wednesday night, Mondlane called for another round of protests starting Thursday in a Facebook livestream. In Maputo, young people gathered in groups, watching Mondlane on their cellphones and shouting “Vamos, Vamos!” – Meaning “Let’s go.”
Ballot stuffing and ghost voters
Many young people in Mozambique, who make up two-thirds of the country’s 35 million people, saw October 9 as an opportunity to abolish Frelimo. The party has ruled the country since it wrested independence from colonial ruler Portugal in 1975 after a bloody uprising. From 1977 to 1992, it fought a civil war with the opposition Renamo Party (Mozambican National Resistance Movement).
But young Mozambicans say Frelimo’s reputation as a liberal party has left no impression on them, and that despite its beauty as a tourist destination, its legacy is now marred by years of economic decline. , says it is deeply buried under corruption, high unemployment and armed conflict in the north. and abundant gas reserves.
“Many young people feel there is no hope,” said activist Chisungo. “We still have children sitting under trees studying, unpaid teachers are always on strike, schools are closed because they can’t pay their water bills, but we still have cars. I have money to buy it.” [top government officials]”
Analysts had predicted that Mondlane’s popularity among young people would give him a competitive advantage in the polls, but two-term President Nyusi is facing Frelimo’s opponent, Chapo. There was little doubt that he would take over power. Chapo, 47, tried to appeal to young people during his campaign by showing off his youth and promising “change,” but many remained unconvinced.
Election day on October 9 and the first few days afterward were peaceful as the National Electoral Commission (CNE) counted the votes. Then observers from the African Union, the European Union, the local Catholic bishops’ association and others began reporting reports of ballot stuffing, ghost voters and falsified voter registration forms.
“The whole thing was organized to steal the election,” Joseph Hanlon, a veteran academic who has studied Mozambican politics and monitored elections for decades, told Al Jazeera on election day. “In some places, you can see result sheets written in pencil so that they can be changed later. The election is irregular from start to finish.”
As the vote count dragged on and it became clear that Frelimo would win, tensions rose in the opposition camp. Mr. Mondlane’s supporters in Podemos were furious, and those of Mr. Renamo, who is usually unpopular, similarly slipped further in the polls.
Mondlane and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade rejected the unofficial results and accused Frelimo of wrongdoing. Mondlane was also victorious.
Political assassination in Maputo?
Trouble escalated in the early morning hours of Saturday, October 19th.
Two top members of Podemos were assassinated in downtown Maputo. Mondlane’s lawyer Elvino Diaz. and Podemos parliamentary candidate Paulo Guambe. Witnesses said the men were leaving a local bar in a car when two armed men accosted them and fired up to 20 shots into the car. A third woman in the car was injured.
Mondlane claimed on the same day that they were the victims of a political assassination, even though law enforcement officials claimed the killings were the result of a personal vendetta.
The killing shocked Mozambique and the international community. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres joined the European Union, African Union and United States in calling for an investigation. Frelimo also called on authorities to “do everything in their power to solve this case.”
At a vigil on the night of the murder, Mondlane said he would not be daunted and called on his supporters to demonstrate. “There is evidence. The blood of two young people is now on the ground! We will all take to the streets. We will hold signs and protest,” he said.
Analyst Americo Maruana told Al Jazeera that the demonstrations likely would have taken place had the killing not occurred. “Citizens and political actors do not trust the CNE because it is unable to fulfill its mission of holding free and fair elections. [the] Local elections in 2023,” he said, referring to last October’s chaotic local elections that many said were fraught with violations and in which three people were killed by security forces following anti-government protests. did.
On Monday, October 21, demonstrators led by Mondlane gathered in Maputo at the same spot where Díaz and Guambe were killed, chanting “Save Mozambique” and “This country is ours.”
Law enforcement officers opened fire in an apparent attempt to disperse them. Human rights groups said some demonstrators were hit with rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, but most were shot with live ammunition. Protests and repression also occurred in other cities, including Nampula, Kiure, and Tete.
On October 24, ahead of the announcement of the election results, Mondlane’s supporters again poured into the streets across the United States, clashing with police. Some threw stones and sticks. Some attacked public buildings and burned down a police station. The homes of some Frelimo politicians were also targeted.
Police responded with bullets and tear gas. Human rights groups say most of the deaths and injuries were recorded on October 24 and 25. One police officer was injured.
Among the dead was 29-year-old Jacinto. His family told Al Jazeera that the young man had just left his home when he was shot dead. He did not take part in any protests.
Those who were in the house were also not saved. Chisungo told Al Jazeera that the 16-year-old boy was in the house when protesters fleeing from police ran inside. After a hot pursuit, law enforcement officers arrived and shot him in the leg.
Injured and dead people piled up in hospitals. It is unclear how many people have been injured so far. Chisungo said some people were afraid to go to the hospital for fear of being arrested.
“I’m not afraid anymore”
Mondlane’s supporters are preparing to reinvigorate and take to the streets on Thursday, but it is unclear how long the protests will last. Mozambican police announced on Monday that they had filed criminal charges against the politician for property destruction during the protests.
Earlier this week, Mr. Mondlane called on other opposition parties to join forces and called on Mr. Frelimo to form a government of national unity, pushing for a model adopted by neighboring South Africa, where the powerful African National Congress (ANC) failed. They won a majority in elections earlier this year, forcing them to form a coalition.
But analyst Maruana said Frelimo was likely to try to use the election to “further consolidate” its advantage.
Aid workers say the disruption is disrupting aid shipments in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. Members of al-Shabab, a group affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) but unrelated to its Somali name, have been targeting communities in the state. The conflict has escalated since 2017, leaving hundreds of people dead and two million displaced.
“Many things are on hold and it is impossible to get permission for anything because a change in management was already expected,” said the non-governmental group “Finding Common Ground”, which works to obtain aid and services. said Hannah Danjinder da Silva, Country Director of “. to affected communities.
Strikes and unrest are likely to hurt many informal workers across Mozambique, who are unable to do business, she said. “The most pressing need in Mozambique right now is economic security, so there is a great need for people to go to work and earn money,” da Silva added.
Meanwhile, congratulations have poured in from world leaders such as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Chapo’s appointment as president seems almost certain.
But Maputo’s Chisungo said young protesters also remained determined. She said it’s been a long time since many people felt disrespected by politicians, but these protests feel like a release.
“It’s clear to people that it’s time for us young people to make history. Either we do it now or we never do it,” she said. “Before, sometimes the police would scare them, but now they are fearless and it doesn’t matter. People are saying, we are ready to die, but there is oppression. The more people do that, the more powerful they feel.”
Additional reporting by Malcolm Webb in Maputo.
