Mozambique: At least 303 killed, 619 shot in protests – NGO

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Mozambique: At least 303 killed, 619 shot in protests – NGO

6:31 CAT | 15 Jan 2025

Photo: CDD Moçambique

At least 303 people have died and 619 have been shot in the post-election demonstrations in Mozambique since 21 October, according to a new report released by the Decide electoral platform on Wednesday.

According to the report by the Mozambican non-governmental organisation (NGO) that monitors electoral processes, at least 4,228 people have been arrested in these demonstrations, called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the results of the general elections on 9 October.

Today, the police used gunfire and tear gas to demobilise a group of demonstrators who were protesting about the inauguration of the new president of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, about 300 metres from the site of the inauguration in the centre of Maputo.

At around 12 noon local time (two hours earlier in Lisbon), a group of a few dozen demonstrators, holding placards in support of presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, insisted on gathering in front of the Bank of Mozambique, blocked off by the police.

The demonstrators then began to throw stones on the road, precipitating police intervention, using several machine gun shots and tear gas, which led to a momentary stampede of demonstrators, some of whom were caught along the way by Rapid Intervention Unit agents, at a time when the investiture ceremony was taking place in the adjacent Independence Square.

A few minutes later, the same group reconvened in the same place, carrying Mozambican flags and repeating the protest.

Mozambican security forces had already dispersed another group of dozens of protesters shouting ‘Mondlane’, which was also about 300 metres from where the new President was sworn in in the capital’s centre.

Dozens of police, military personnel and grey teams prevented the demonstrators from approaching Independence Square.

The demonstrators, organised into different groups, also shouted ‘Save Mozambique’ and sang the Mozambican anthem. They said they wanted to attend the inauguration but were prevented by the police.

The Mozambican capital is today under heavy security measures, and there have already been other police interventions to disperse protesters who had set fire to tyres on the road at the entrance to the centre of Maputo shortly before the inauguration ceremony of Daniel Chapo as Mozambique’s fifth president.

In the Bairro Luís Cabral area, groups of young people started setting fire to tyres at around 09:00 local time (two hours earlier in Lisbon), cutting off the N4, which connects Matola to the entrance to Maputo, prompting the police to fire several shots in an attempt to demobilise them.

Daniel Chapo was inaugurated today as the fifth President of the Republic of Mozambique, the first one to be born after the country’s independence, in a ceremony attended by around 2,500 guests.

On 23 December, Chapo, 48, was proclaimed by the Constitutional Council (CC) as the winner of the election for speaker of parliament, with 65.17% of the votes, in the general elections of 9 October, which included legislative elections and elections for provincial assemblies, which Frelimo also won.

Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the election results, has called for three days of stoppages and demonstrations since Monday, contesting the swearing-in of the elected MPs and the investiture of the new president.

The election of Daniel Chapo has been contested in the streets since October, with pro-Mondlane demonstrators – who, according to the CC, only got 24% of the votes but who claim victory – demanding the ‘restoration of electoral truth’, with barricades, looting and clashes with the police.

Mozambican NGO @PDecide23 says 7 more people have been killed today alone, raising the death toll to 307. This, as @daniel_chapo24, has been sworn in as the country’s 5th president. Was on set to discuss that and more. pic.twitter.com/mY52QjIODR

— Grace Kuria Kanja (@GraceKuriaKE) January 15, 2025

Data from the demonstrations broken down by phase.#CFLI #MozambiqueProtests #MozambiqueElections pic.twitter.com/odqQevnX8h

— Plataforma_decide (@PDecide23) January 15, 2025