Mozambique: Six years after 1st attack in Mocímboa, insurgency ending - District Administrator
Photo: O País
On the sidelines of the African Union summit which ended yesterday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the presidents of Mozambique and South Africa held a meeting during which they discussed the two issues that dominate current affairs between the two countries.
First is the death of the South African businessman Andre Hanekom, who was in jail accused of financing insurgents in Cabo Delgado, and whose death occurred only days after the South African president visited Mozambique for talks with his counterpart.
The other issue is the arrest of Assembly of the Republic deputy and former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang.
“We all feel for the premature death of Mr. Hanekom, who had been detained and was an important part of us understanding the attacks, and we stand in solidarity with the family because no one should die in a problem which can be tried. We also reviewed other issues such as the detention of our Mozambican citizen [Manuel Chang], the intentions of Mozambique in relation to that and respect for justice, and then we went to areas of cooperation,” President Nyusi said.
The president rejected the idea that the death of the South African businessman might have cooled relations between Mozambique and South Africa, saying: “countries are not people,and, actually this [is something which] has been underlined!”
“What caused the death must be looked into. And there are scientific procedures that can establish proof and so, an autopsy was carried out in Mozambique, and if there is a need to carry out another autopsy in South Africa, that is not a problem. Even with someone who is diagnosed with a disease, the tendency is to get a second or a third opinion. Afterwards we shall see what the case is,” the Mozambican head of state said.
Nyusi also revealed that Ramaphosa and he had exchanged thoughts on the attacks in Cabo Delgado, because it was matter of concern to South Africa: a group that had apparently already been active in Tanzania could any day take action in any other country in the region.
In Addis Ababa, President Nyusi also met the prime minister of Eswatini Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwandan and Danny Faure of the Seychelles, having invited the latter to attend the Conference on Blue Economy to be held in Maputo next month.
Yesterday morning, President Nyusi attended a breakfast organised by Kenya to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. During the meeting, President Nyusi spoke about the challenges facing governments in identifying new forms of slavery, generally linked to the poverty in which most of the African continent lives.
In the early afternoon, he participated in the African Union Summit plenary, debating measures to prevent populations fleeing their areas of origin, and the harmonisation of the treatment of displaced persons and refugees should this occur.
The Mozambican president said that along with achieving and preserving peace, avoiding the movement of refugees and displaced people was crucial if countries across the continent were to implement and achieve the African Union’s Agenda 2063, a strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the continent over the next 50 years.
By Francisco Mandlate
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Africa’s problem is in AddiS Ababa, discussing Africa’s problem