Mozambique: Prosecutor accuses Mondlane of premeditation and admits to reviewing coercive measures

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Mozambique: Prosecutor accuses Mondlane of premeditation and admits to reviewing coercive measures

3:03 CAT | 23 Jul 2025

Photo: Venâncio Mondlane/Facebook

The Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) accuses politician Venâncio Mondlane of acting premeditatedly and with the support of third parties in the five crimes he is indicted of, in connection with the post-election protests, and admits reviewing the coercive measures in his case.

The indictment, delivered to the former presidential candidate on Tuesday at the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) in Maputo and accessed by Lusa today, accuses Venâncio Mondlane of “material and moral authorship, in real concurso offences” of the crimes of public apology for crime, incitement to collective disobedience, public instigation of a crime, instigation of terrorism, and incitement to terrorism.

For the Public Prosecutor’s Office, “aggravating circumstances” exist against the defendant, such as “the crime having been committed with premeditation,” as well as “committed through a summons, pact, or execution between two or more people” resorting to a “means of publicity” and thus creating “a concurrence of crimes”.

“There are no mitigating circumstances,” the indictment also states. In addition to witness testimony, it includes interviews, recordings of Venâncio Mondlane’s social media posts, including calls for protests against the election results – results which Mondlane does not acknowledge – and a case involving the October 9th general election, in which he ran for President of the Republic. It also includes banking information, call traffic reports and electronic transaction reports, among other documents, namely regarding the consequences of the protests.

“For now, it is understood that the defendant should remain subject to the Term of Identity and Residence already issued, without prejudice to its amendment based on changing circumstances,” the indictment further states.

On Tuesday, before a heavy police presence, with the PGR headquarters in Maputo closed to both vehicle s and pedestrians and members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office welcoming him at the entrance wearing bulletproof vests, the former presidential candidate explained, after 30 minutes inside to receive the notification, that he would go to trial with the support of an “international team” of lawyers, with a “clear conscience,” and that he does not acknowledge the crimes of which he is now accused.

“I have rendered a great service to this nation. This is the first time in 30 years of democracy that we have managed to take the matter of uncovering and lifting the veil of fraud to the extreme. We have removed the mask of fraud and taken extreme resistance against a dictatorial regime that maintains itself based on weapons, murders, and kidnappings,” Venâncio Mondlane told reporters.

“This is the first time since national independence that the Mozambican people have sung the national anthem for a week and felt a sense of patriotism, a sense of belonging to a homeland, a sense of pride in being Mozambican. For me, all of this represents a great service to the country,” he added, alluding to the months of post-election protests in Mozambique.

In his statements, Mondlane accused the Mozambican justice system of being “selective” in its handling of this case: “It’s a justice system for those who are complacent with crime, who promote this same crime, who receive privileges. And those who want to fight this crime, those who want to fight this stage of misery in which the country finds itself, are attacked, persecuted, arrested, killed, and injured,” he said.

Mozambique experienced a climate of intense social unrest following the October elections, with demonstrations and strikes called by Mondlane, who rejects the election results that gave victory to Daniel Chapo, supported by the ruling Frelimo party, as the fifth President of the Republic.

According to non-governmental organizations monitoring the electoral process, approximately 400 people died as a result of clashes with the police, in addition to the destruction of public and private property, looting, and violence. These conflicts ceased after meetings between Mondlane and Chapo on March 23 and May 20, aimed at pacifying the country.

Source: Lusa