Mozambique: Protesters block access to main border with South Africa – Photos

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Mozambique: Protesters block access to main border with South Africa – Photos

2:48 CAT | 14 Nov 2024

Photo: Lusa

Protests by supporters of presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane demanding the “reinstatement of electoral truth” are blocking traffic at Ressano Garcia today (14-11), the main border between Mozambique and South Africa, which is heavily guarded by dozens of military and police officers.

#TRACN4route #Update at 13:57. #Alert LEBOMBO BORDER at a standstill with no vehicles able to enter #Mozambique due to political unrest at #RessanoGarcia

— TRAC N4 Toll Route (@TRACN4route) November 14, 2024

In the early hours of the morning, the strong presence of the Defence and Security Forces was already visible at the border, the point of entry for imports to the Mozambican capital and South African exports which use the port of Maputo, with heavy goods vehicles being escorted along the route into Mozambique by heavily armed officers.

A group of dozens of protesters, supporters of presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, gathered near the border and marched through the town, blocking the passage of heavy vehicles, some of which reversed down National Highway Number 4. Protests were observed by dozens of police and military personnel, who did not intervene.

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“That’s what we’re seeing, I think the number of police officers is increasing every day, yesterday it wasn’t like that […]. I think they brought them here from the city – there must be no police in Maputo anymore,” 27-year-old businessman Finiz Matavela told Lusa, before joining the march. “We voted for who we wanted, so things aren’t working the way we want, that’s why we’re here,” he explained.

The protesters grew in number as they walked towards the border, with posters supporting the presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, sticks and Mozambican flags, and accompanied by a strong police presence.

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At the country’s main border post, which handles around a thousand heavy vehicles per day, truck drivers can be seen reversing to avoid the protesters, amid the constant coming and going of police and soldiers.

“It’s worse today,” said businessman Person Sitoe, 29, from Ressano Garcia, who also joined the protesters, many with wooden planks cut in imitation of police machine guns, in the march that ended up blocking the border.

“How are they going to fight with people who only have 20% [the result announced for Venâncio Mondlane], we just want to see the 70% marching. […] We just want the electoral truth,” he added.

“The march has always been peaceful; there is no shooting or anything,” he added.

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Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane on Monday called for a new three-day period of nationwide demonstrations in Mozambique and all provincial capitals starting on Wednesday, now extended to ports and borders.

After street protests that paralyzed the country on October 21, 24 and 25, Mondlane called for a seven-day general strike starting October 31, with nationwide protests and a demonstration culminating in Maputo on Thursday, November 7. This resulted in chaos in the capital, with barricades erected, tires burned, and tear gas and live rounds fired by the police throughout the day to disperse the protests.

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