Mozambique: 85 killed; 5 Donors Condemn Violence Against Civilians

“We strongly condemn the escalating violence against civilians during the post-electoral period in Mozambique. This has included an incident on November 27 in which a vehicle of the Mozambican security forces accelerated toward a gathering of people and brutally struck a person,” declared a  very strong joint statement  yesterday (27 November) of the embassies of Norway, Canada, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

Until now the international community has largely remained quiet, so to “strongly condemn” is a major change.

The statement concludes: “We call on the Government of Mozambique to uphold the role of security forces to protect the people of Mozambique and to conduct an investigation into this incident and the other reports of disproportionate use of force in order to ensure accountability, in accordance with the law.”

The incident cited on Wednesday morning occurred when a few protesters just set up a table with a banner and with two people standing on the table. This video  shows army and police vehicles going around the table and soldiers sometimes waving at protestors. Suddenly an army armoured car travelling at very high speed down the centre of Av Eduardo Mondlane ploughs through the table and banner and over a woman and continues away at high speed.

These pictures and the video show what happened.  The woman, shown on the left of the second picture and on the ground on the right in the third picture, was seriously injured, but survived.

The Mozambican Defence Ministry, in a statement issued on Wednesday, admitted that it was a military vehicle which “accidentally ran over” a demonstrator in the middle of Eduardo Mondlane Avenue. According to the statement, the vehicle was on a mission to protect economic objects, and unblock roads, and “it was part of a duly flagged military convoy”.

But vídeo images contradict the Ministry statement. The vehicle was travelling alone, at high speed and drove deliberately at several people who were in the middle of the road. Some people managed to scramble out of harm’s way, but one was seriously injured. There is no evidence that there was any attempt to slow down or avoid the hitting the protestors (see the  video here ).

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EU hits ‘brutal repression’

“The brutality of the repression from the state apparatus and the police” in Mozambique after the election was criticised in the European parliament Tuesday (26 November) by the Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, on behalf of High Representative Josep Borrell.

Furthermore, “We deplore the considerable number of fatalities over the past weeks. We also condemn the assassination of two opposition politicians [Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe] on 19 October, and we demand clarity on the facts and a full investigation.”

She tried to remain neutral, saying “I stress that the European Union and the Electoral Observation Mission are not taking any sides.” But she also said “Thanks to our cooperation with Mozambique, we have established close relations with the Mozambican government. The European Union has become a valued partner, which can speak frankly and openly. And this is why, among trusted partners, we cannot remain silent in the current situation.”

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Protestors take over again

Venancio Mondlane called for demonstrations Wednesday-Friday (27-29 November) in which people drove to work as usual but parked their cars in the middle of the road all day, and displayed posters. In practice, Mozambicans rejected this, and did not want to risk their cars being damaged.

Instead, the people themselves occupied the streets and closed many roads, simply holding posters. Widespread support meant that a row of people holding hands across the road or sitting at a table and chairs was enough to close a road.

Maputo, Matola, Ressano Garcia, Nampula and other places saw major road closures yesterday and today, probably more than the previous week. The toll gate on the road between Maputo and Matola was closed.

Mondlane also called for the singing of the national anthem. Indeed, the people have turned the national anthem into a protest song, especially the last words: “No tyrant will enslave us”. The combination is seen  in this video , of well-dressed people closing the Marginal, a major road along the coast, in front of a shopping mall.

There is also evidence of a split between the army and the police. In one video  the soldiers expel a member of the Rapid Intervention Unit (the riot police) who was shooting against defenceless civilians, which provoked popular anger. It was also evident that the demonstrators were friendly towards the soldiers, but were furious against the police.

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Body count

At least 85 protesters killed

Two agencies are keeping a tabulation of protesters killed by police and security forces. The Beira-based  Plataforma Eleitoral Decide  reports  67 deaths between 21 October and 21 November  of which 27 were in the most recent protest phase, 13-25 November, and 40 earlier. The US-based  ACLED, best known for its very detailed record of the Cabo Delgado civil war, also records protests and reports that in the earlier period 21 October to 12 November there were 55 protester deaths, 15 more than reported by Plataforma. If we add the three deaths yesterday in Nampula (see below), that takes the total protester deaths to 85.

The international NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW), claims that the Mozambican security forces have killed at least 10 children during demonstrations.

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Police kill 3 in Nacala as roads and railway blocked

Police bullets killed three people yesterday (27 November) in the city of Nampula. Half a dozen other people were injured. The main roads linking Nampula to other provinces were blocked.

The national highway that connects Nampula to Zambézia was interrupted in the Nampula district of Murrupula. The road linking the cities of Nampula, Nacala and Pemba was also cut at the Namialo crossroads in Meconta district.

The railway from Nacala, in the Northern Development Corridor, was paralysed. The  video  shows demonstrators taking over a train and were chanting the name of Venancio Mondlane.

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CC Christmas present?

The Constitutional Council (CC) has no requirement as to when it must rule on elections. By tradition the president should be inaugurated on 12 January. The CC has reported in the past on Christmas eve or 23 December, and that seems likely this year. Substantial divisions and pressures from factions in Frelimo are also causing delays in decision-making in the CC.

The judges of the Constitutional Council, the highest electoral law, have been receiving death threats through messages “sent to their phones or posted on social media”, complained chair Lúcia Ribeiro in a statement Monday. At least she will now understand how opposition figures regularly face similar harrassment. The CC must announce the final results of the presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections held on 9 October, but it has no deadline.

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Nyusi adjourns opposition meeting

President Filipe Nyusi had invited the four presidential candidates to meet Tuesday 26 November. All four agreed but with conditions. Mondlane is currently in exile, and will not return to Mozambique without guarantees that he will not be arrested.

Frelimo fear Mondlane, and several arrest warrants have been issued. The most serious effectively accused him of plotting a coup d’etat, which would have happened on 7 November, under cover of the “March on Maputo” which Mondlane had called for. Mondlane also faces a civil suit for damages running into hundreds of millions of dollars – the cost of repairing the damage caused by the demonstrations he had called.

Mondlane wanted to attend virtually, but Nyusi did not reply.

The other three did attend – Daniel Chapo, Frelimo; Ossufo Momande, Renamo, and Lutero Simango, MDM. The latter two refused to continue without Mondlane, so the meeting was adjourned, probably until next year.

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Are there Rwandan forces in Maputo?

Despite denials, it seems that Rwandan forces are operating in Maputo city to protect the Presidency of the Republic. Military sources say that part of the Presidential Guard now consists of Rwandans and of Mozambican soldiers who have been recently trained by the European Union. This is the so-called Quick Reaction Force (QRF).

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The QRF has existed for two years and is headquartered in Cabo Delgado. The first evidence of the existence of Rwandan forces in Maputo came when a young man named Genito was shot in the neighbourhood of Maxaquene. Genito was shot, according to “Expresso”, on 7 November, the day which Venâncio Mondlane baptised as “victory day”.

Genito’s uncle, Anselmo Armindo, said that Genito was not shot by the Mozambican police. He said his nephew had been shot by policemen who did not know how to speak Portuguese. “It was those police who do not speak Portuguese. They speak English. He was shot by those police who don’t speak Portuguese”, he told “Expresso”.

If true, it will not be the first time that Rwanda has been involved in the defence of authoritarian regimes. In 2020, Rwanda and Russia sent hundreds of troops to protect the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin Archange Touadera, from a possible coup d’etat that was being prepared by his opponents.

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Is Nyusi a fugitive?

Several amateur vídeos taken by Maputo residents or people working in the vicinity of the Presidential offices show a helicopter landing on the heliport and taking some people out of the building. Could this have been President Nyusi or family members being removed to an undisclosed location, after an increase in the levels of insecurity in the centre of Maputo city?

The first vídeo images show the helicopter landing at the heliport of the Presidential building. Minutes later, in other images,  the helicopter is seen taking off in the direction of the Indian Ocean.

The signs of insecurity are visible. On Wednesday, the centre of Maputo was controlled by the demonstrators. This was the first time that the demonstrators had taken over the heart of the capital.

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