SADC to discuss Mozambique crisis in mid-November – News24

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SADC to discuss Mozambique crisis in mid-November – News24

5:45 CAT | 06 Nov 2024

Image: DW Africa

Maputo is under lockdown, and protests over the 9 October election have disrupted trade between Mozambique and South Africa.

But the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will only address the crisis in about 10 days, at a meeting in Harare.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, told journalists in Harare on Tuesday night that an extraordinary SADC summit would be held from 16 to 20 November.

Top of the agenda would be “emerging issues of regional significance”, he said.

Zimbabwe assumed the annual rotational chairmanship of the regional bloc in August this year.

Since then, there have been disputed elections in Mozambique, a historic transition of power in Botswana, and a general election in Mauritius.

Namibia is also due for general elections on 27 November.

Opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane is challenging the election results that declared Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo as the victor with 70.67%.

Mondlane argued that the 20.32% awarded to him was a result of electoral fraud.

Other political parties, such as Renamo, have also joined forces with Mondlane’s Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos) to challenge the results.

This resulted in continuous public protests while Mondlane launched an official complaint at the constitutional court.

The Mozambique Medical Association (AMM) said in a statement on Tuesday that since 10 October, at least 16 people were killed in post-election violence while 108 were injured.

Public infrastructure, such as hospitals, had been affected, AMM president Dr Napoleão Viola told journalists.

Health professionals took to the streets on Tuesday in protest, joining an en-masse public outcry about developments in the country.

Viola said: “There are some services that are no longer working [in hospitals], especially outpatient services, and consultations”.

Broadcasting on Facebook Live since last week, Mondlane has been calling on Mozambicans not to hold back.

Reports in Mozambique alleged that Mondlane was holed in a secret location in South Africa.

News24 was told by Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation spokesperson Chrispin Phiri that the government had no record of Mondlane’s presence in SA.

Mondlane claimed on Tuesday to have survived an assassination attempt in Sandton.

News24 reported on Monday that the ANC appealed to all parties in Mozambique to find a solution to ongoing unrest.

ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told News24 the party was in communication with Frelimo, the long-ruling party that said its leader, Chapo, was elected president in a landslide.

“We are in touch with our sister party, Frelimo, and we have conveyed our message to all in Mozambique, wishing for a speedy return to calm, and it’s in our best interests to do whatever it takes within our limited means as a sister party to contribute and encourage a return to peace and stability so that governance can take place in that country.

“We are appealing to all parties in Mozambique to find common ground so that the country can move forward,” Bhengu-Motsiri said.

On Sunday, ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane said the unrest across the border “poses a threat not only to Mozambique, but also to neighbouring countries, including ourselves”.

Source: News24