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Mozambique: Barricades, burning tyres as MPs sworn in at parliament
7:08 CAT | 13 Jan 2025
Photo: Luisa Nhantumbo/Lusa
Social unrest, barricades and burning tyres, with police firing to disperse demonstrators, returned to some areas of Maputo this morning, at the same time as the elected members of parliament for the 10th legislature were sworn in.
At the Xiquelene market, the police fired several shots and threw tear gas to disperse demonstrators who were peacefully, albeit with barricades on the road, contesting the swearing-in that was taking place simultaneously at the Parliament, boycotted by members of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), who do not recognise the results announced from the general elections on 9 October.
“Everyone here came out to sell and not demonstrating, but what happened was that the [Rapid Intervention Unit] police arrived and started shooting. They took some young people, put them in the car and started beating them. Our question is: what have we done today?” asked Glória Langa, a vendor at the market.
Shortly afterwards, with some people trying to immobilise the few vehicles that were on the roads, members of the UIR, in an armoured vehicle, fired several rounds of tear gas.
“Demonstrating peacefully. That’s what we’re doing here, there’s no barricade, there’s no confusion, but we’re hearing shots (…) What harm have we done?” adds Glória, retorting: “What do they want from us? To kill us? Then let them kill us all so they can rule.”
While some of the locals present several casings from machine-gun ammunition fired a few minutes earlier, Carlos Milagre complains of being charged and beaten by the police. However, he claims he was only on the market pavement.
“They got there, forced me into the car, beat me up saying that I was closing the road while I wasn’t there,” he said, in the face of popular fury at the UIR armoured vehicle that was firing tear gas to disperse small groups.
About two kilometres from the parliament, Lusaka’s Accords Avenue was filled with burning tyres. At the same time, the police tried unsuccessfully to demobilise the protesters, who were still turning over rubbish bins to stop traffic, along with stones, glass and sticks.
“The protest we’re staging is for the betterment of our country. Frelimo has been in power for 50 years, and nothing has changed,” complains Abdul Carvalho, lamenting that little is said about the victims of these demonstrations; according to organisations on the ground, almost 300 people have died, and more than 600 have been shot since 21 October.
“I know three people. Some neighbours, one of my cousins has died,” he said, as the burning tyres brought thick black smoke to the entire avenue despite the rain that was falling.
“Why are they killing,” Abdul asked, saying: “The people are tired, that’s what we want to change.”
“I think it’s going to get worse (…) It’s not guns that change a country, it’s the people,” he added.
The Mozambican Parliament swore in the MPs elected to the 10th legislature today. Still, two parties, Renamo, with 28 seats, and MDM, with eight, went ahead with what they had announced and boycotted the ceremony, contesting the electoral process, a day on which new protests have been called in the country.
The 250 MPs elected to the 10th Legislature of the parliament were summoned to take office today, at 10:00 local time (08:00 in Lisbon), at the parliament in Maputo in a solemn ceremony led by the outgoing president, Filipe Nyusi.
The ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo, which retains a majority in parliament) elected former minister Margarida Talapa as speaker of parliament, the second-ranking figure in the Mozambican state.
In addition to Frelimo, 39 of the 43 MPs from the Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), which until now had been non-parliamentary and which supported Venâncio Mondlane’s presidential candidacy, were sworn in, making it the largest opposition party, contrary to Venâncio Mondlane’s request that they not be sworn in.
A party source confirmed to Lusa that the four MPs from the political grouping who missed the swearing-in will “resolve the situation in the next few days”.
On Saturday, Venâncio Mondlane called for three days of strike action starting today in Mozambique and for “peaceful demonstrations” during the inauguration of the parliament and the new Mozambican president, challenging the electoral process.
Mondlane returned to Mozambique on Thursday after two and a half months abroad, citing security concerns. He insists that he does not recognise the announced results of the general elections on 9 October, in which Frelimo elected its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo. According to the results proclaimed by the CC on 23 December, Frelimo retained its parliamentary majority, with 171 seats, against the current 184, and all the provincial governors.
Source: Lusa
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