Mozambique: President denies violating constitution with pardon for alleged insurgents

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Mozambique: President denies violating constitution with pardon for alleged insurgents

3:17 CAT | 14 Nov 2022

The head of state was speaking impromptu during the closing speech of the academic year of the Higher Institute of Defence Studies Lieutenant General Armando Guebuza (ISEDEF) in Maputo province. [Photo: TVM]

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Friday rejected accusations of constitutional violations by granting pardon to alleged insurgents without following the law, noting that he has only publicly presented civilians rescued from the rebels who should be reintegrated into their communities.

We have to “deconstruct this narrative of people who are in offices saying that we are interfering” in the functioning of the justice system and parliament by granting pardon to alleged insurgents, Nyusi said.

The head of state was speaking impromptu during the closing speech of the academic year of the Higher Institute of Defence Studies Lieutenant General Armando Guebuza (ISEDEF) in Maputo province.

Filipe Nyusi said that the people covered by the “pardon” are mothers with children and babies and the elderly who fled or were rescued by government forces from captivity of the armed groups carrying out attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

“We said: ‘come and stay in your village’,” because “the principle of reconciliation is the rule [in Mozambique], it is formulaic,” Nyusi stressed.

People escaping from the hands of the insurgents, he continued, are asking the authorities to advise communities to accept their reintegration and avoid reprisals.

The Mozambican president explained that on Saturday he will publicly present more people who have fled the hands of the rebels.

Last week, the Mozambican non-governmental organisation (NGO) Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) accused the president of “serious violation of the principle of separation of powers” by granting “pardon” to alleged insurgents.

The CDD accused the president of “serious violation of the principle of separation of powers” by granting “pardon” to alleged insurgents. “This recurrent act of the head of state constitutes a serious violation of the principle of separation of powers, since under the terms of the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique, the president has the power to pardon and commute sentences and the parliament has the power to grant amnesty and pardon sentences,” said an analysis released by CDD.

The NGO pointed out that pardoning or amnestying crimes that have not been tried is the responsibility of the parliament and not the head of state.

The president is constitutionally empowered to grant pardon or commutation of sentences resulting from conviction of crimes.

“The alleged terrorists pardoned by the president have not been tried and convicted, the president does not have the power to pardon them, as the presidential pardon can only occur after the conviction of the offender in a court of law”, explains the CDD.

The NGO also criticised the fact that Filipe Nyusi announced the pardon of the alleged rebels at popular rallies, noting that the acts of the head of state follow formalities, such as a presidential decree or order, and are published in the official state gazette.

Cabo Delgado province has faced an armed insurgency promoted by rebels for five years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The insurgency led to a military response a year ago with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.

In five years, the conflict has left one million people displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and about 4,000 dead, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Source: Lusa