Mozambique: N4 highway to South Africa blocked again this Friday – Watch

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Mozambique: N4 highway to South Africa blocked again this Friday – Watch

6:02 CAT | 14 Feb 2025

Screen grab: Moçambique Em Ação/Facebook

People blocked the highway leading to the Ressano Garcia border crossing between Mozambique and South Africa again on Friday, with the authorities working to clear the way, local sources told Lusa.

The road leading to the border, the N4, was blocked at around 11:00A.M. by two lorries, when people forced the drivers of the vehicles to stop in the middle of the road, protesting against the alleged kidnapping of a local taxi driver, a source speaking from the Ressano Garcia border area told Lusa.

“People blocked the road because a taxi driver was kidnapped during the night and people took to the streets to protest. The police are trying to clear the road and it’s a complicated situation because they’re firing tear gas,” explained the source who works less than 100 metres from the border as a shopkeeper.

The road is blocked less than 500 metres from the border, and in an effort to disperse the population; the Mozambican police have been escorting some vehicles that manage to avoid the trucks to safe places.

“The road is blocked at the moment, but the cars are trying to get around the obstacles. But the situation is tense here,” a local resident explained to Lusa.

Speaking to Lusa, the spokesman for Mozambique’s Migration Services *SENAMI( in Maputo province, Juca Bata, said the border with South Africa remains open despite the situation.

“The information we have is that the border is open and working,” he said.

Lusa unsuccessfully tried contacting the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) in Maputo province.

A fronteira da #RessanoGarcia está a ferro e fogo desde às 10 horas, seguindo o rapto hoje de um apoiante de Venâncio Mondlane, de acordo com o @Canal_Moz. Em retaliação a população arrancou chaves aos camionistas e bloqueou a estrada. A polícia está disparar. #Moçambique pic.twitter.com/SwZAQdY8Lc

— Alexandre Nhampossa (@AllexandreMZ) February 14, 2025

Since the start of the demonstrations against the results of the 9 October elections in Mozambique, clashes between the police and demonstrators in the area have affected the functioning of the border, with cases of vandalisation of infrastructure and blocking of the road on the Mozambican side.

One of the most serious cases occurred on 13 December, when the live shooting of a young man filming police operations against demonstrators at the border sparked a popular uprising.

The young man, an internet content producer, lost his life in hospital and was live on the social network Facebook when he was shot, minutes after recording the moment when police forces fired to disperse a group of demonstrators near the border.

Ressano Garcia, in southern Mozambique, is an obligatory crossing point for various South African exports via the port of Maputo and for imports of South African products into the Mozambican capital.

On 5 November, five vehicles belonging to the Mozambican border authorities were burned by demonstrators who also vandalised the border post, and the two countries decided to close the crossing completely, with trucks piling up on both sides.

Mozambique has been experiencing strong social unrest since October, with demonstrations and stoppages called by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who rejected the election results of 9 October.

The protests, now on a smaller scale, have been taking place in different parts of the country. In addition to contesting the results, people are complaining about the rising cost of living and other social problems.

Since October, at least 327 people have died, including around two dozen minors, and around 750 have been shot during the protests, according to the electoral platform Decide, a non-governmental organisation that monitors electoral processes.

Source: Lusa