Mozambique: Mondlane calls for three days of marches in Quelimane – AIM | Watch

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Mozambique: Mondlane calls for three days of marches in Quelimane – AIM | Watch

7:30 CAT | 15 Apr 2025

Screen grab: Venâncio Mondlane/Facebook

Mozambique’s former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane on Monday called for three days of marches in the central city of Quelimane, in protest against the attempted murder on Sunday of musician Joel Amaral, better known by his stage name MC Trufafa.

Amaral is one of the political advisers of Mondlane. He became prominent during the 2023 municipal elections, when his song “Who won?”, became an anthem for the opposition during marches opposing the fraudulent results in Quelimane.

In Sunday’s attack unidentified assailants shot Amaral twice, one in the arm and once in the head. He is now out of danger, but is in intensive care in Quelimane Central Hospital.

READ: Mozambique: Mondlane supporter victim of murder attempt – AIM report

Mozambique: MC Trufafa’s shooting is an “affront to democracy” – Chapo

Mozambique: MC Trufafá, one of Mondlane’s main mobilizers, shot in Quelimane – Watch

Mondlane flew from Maputo to Quelimane on Monday morning. A huge crowd met him outside the hospital, and he then led them on a march through the streets of the city.

On leaving the hospital, Mondlane warned “you can’t go on humiliating the people to the point that it sees no alternative but an unpredictable reaction that could be disastrous for the country”.

“If they think that silencing Trufafa is an effective way of sending a message, they are much mistaken. This only proves that change has become a matter of survival”, said a source close to Mondlane, cited by the Quelimane electronic daily “Txopela”.

Later in the morning, Mondlane called for “three days of uninterrupted marches” in Quelimane. This protest, he said, would be “a collective cry against the attempt to instututionalise fear and political violence in a city which in recent years has been an example of democratic vigilance and active citizenship”.

“Quelimane cannot be violated with silence”, he added. “This attack is more than a bullet in Joel’s body – it is a projectile aimed against freedom of expression”.

READ: Mozambique: Protests 100 times worse if political persecution goes on – Mondlane

One protester, wearing a T-shirt bearing the portrait of Amaral, told “Txopela” “Marching is the least we can do to keep the flame of resistance alive”.