Mozambique: Renamo Chief of Staff demobilised – AIM

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Mozambique: Renamo Chief of Staff demobilised – AIM

7:40 CAT | 19 Aug 2021

Photo: O País

Nine high ranking officers in the militia of Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, including the Renamo Chief of Staff, Timoteo Maquinze, laid down their weapons and were demobilised in the central city of Beira on Tuesday.

The Secretary of State for Sofala province, Stella Pinto Zeca, chaired the ceremony, which was attended by Renamo leader Ossufo Momade, and by Mirko Manzoni, the personal representative of United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who chairs the international contact group facilitating the dialogue between the Mozambican government and Renamo.

Stella Pinto told the ceremony that the government will do all in its power to ensure the success of the Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration into society (DDR) of former members of the Renamo militia.

DDR is “a very complex process”, Pinto said. ”It is important that we can all be convinced that this is the path chosen by Mozambicans, which should be done on the basis of dialogue, commitment and understanding, so that we overcome all the challenges imposed, and attain the desired goals, namely seeing the population enjoying their rights, and using the services provided by the State, regardless of their political party or religious affiliation”.

Maquinze, who is recovering from a stroke, reiterated his desire to see DDR reach a successful conclusion. He urged members of the self-styled “Renamo Military Junta” to put down their guns and join the DDR.

“Today, nothing justifies guerrillas remaining in the bush”, he said. “The time has come for each of us to contribute to the growth of our families and the development of the country. I call on our brothers who are still in the bush, with guns in their hands, to join this process”.

Momade claimed that Maquinze was one of the architects of Renamo, who had always been at the side of its late leader, Afonso Dhlakama. “He never abandoned the cause we fought for”, he declared.

The demobilisation of Maquinze was one of the “most historic” stages in the DDR, and it meant that Renamo “is reaffirming the commitment to respect, in the letter and the spirit, the understandings we reached at the negotiating table”, stressed Momade.

Source: AIM