Mozambique: President enacts law extending mandatory military service from two to five years

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Mozambique: President enacts law extending mandatory military service from two to five years

3:00 CAT | 29 Dec 2023

File photo: Rádio Moçambique

Mozambique’s president has promulgated the legislative revision that increases the minimum time of compulsory military service from two to five years, approved in parliament with only the favourable votes of the Frelimo majority, the presidency announced on Friday.

In a statement, the presidency said that the head of state had “promulgated and ordered to be published” the revision of the Military Service Law, as well as the Statute, Security and Welfare of Members of Parliament.

“The aforementioned laws were recently approved by the Speaker of Parliament and submitted to the President of the Republic for promulgation, and the Head of State has verified that they do not contradict the Fundamental Law,” reads the statement.

The proposal to revise the Military Service Law was brought to parliament by the government, which claimed that there was a need to retain military personnel in the Armed Forces, and received 160 votes in favour at the plenary session on 14 December from the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, in power), and 43 votes against from the opposition, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM).

In the statement after the special and final vote, the Frelimo bench defended its favourable position on this amendment, claiming that “it will create conditions to make the military institution more robust” and “guarantee the retention and professionalisation of the military” as well as “giving greater dynamism to the Armed Forces”.

The revision to the Military Service Law establishes an increase from two to five years in the minimum length of service in the general troops and from two to six years in the special forces.

It introduces the modality of direct call-up to the Mozambique Armed Defence Forces (FADM), with the authorisation of the Minister of National Defence, criminal liability for conscripts and military personnel who fail to comply and imposes fines on the leaders of public and private institutions who do not demand that the declaration of regularised status be presented.

Renamo also asked for the two articles that increase the period of compulsory military service to be removed from the final vote, with the support of the MDM, but Frelimo rejected the proposal.

In its explanation of the vote against the proposal, the Renamo parliamentary caucus claimed that this extension “interrupts” the study and work of young Mozambicans and “delays normal integration” into society, being “exaggerated and humanly unacceptable”.

The MDM bench pointed out that the selection for military service has been made on the basis of “the children of the least favoured”, rejecting the extension: “These children, on their return, have no support, no assistance, no integration”.

The revision of the law maintains the minimum age of 18 and the maximum age of 35 for entry into military service in Mozambique.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said on 6 December that the increase from two to five years in the minimum length of military service is aimed at ensuring the retention of experienced personnel.

“This revision is aimed at the retention and availability of experienced personnel. I have experienced cases in which my generals became very desperate after forming special forces, with the knowledge that the others didn’t have, but because they had already done two years, they had to leave before carrying out the missions,” declared Filipe Nyusi.

For the head of state, the amendment aims to avoid “a waste” that “involved costs”. “I corrected that law,” said Filipe Nyusi.

Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, which has led to a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects.

The conflict has already displaced a million people, according to data from UN agencies, and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Source: Lusa