Portugal ignored violations in Mozambique to safeguard “relationship” with Frelimo – Stewart Sukuma

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Portugal ignored violations in Mozambique to safeguard “relationship” with Frelimo – Stewart Sukuma

11:24 CAT | 10 Mar 2025

File photo: Lusa

Mozambican musician Stewart Sukuma this Saturday criticized the position of the international community regarding human rights violations in the electoral process in Mozambique, especially Portugal, which ignored the situation due to the “comfortable relationship” with the ruling party.

“The feeling I was left with was that Portugal did not want to get involved so as not to jeopardize the comfortable relationship it currently has [with the Mozambique Liberation Front]. That was bad, because if something happens in Portugal that concerns us, we will talk about it,” Sukuma said in an interview with Lusa in Maputo.

For the Mozambican musician, Portugal’s position regarding possible human rights violations and in relation to the elections themselves, which he classified as fraudulent, is the result of a “historical relationship with the Frelimo party”. “We cannot forget that Portugal has a historical relationship not only with Mozambique, but with the Frelimo party,” Sukuma says.

The musician is convinced that that, from voter registration on, the electoral process was marked by irregularities, but that, in general, “the anomalies were ignored by the international community, contradicting a stance that has been adopted in other parts of the world. They used double standards”, he added.

The Mozambican artist also believes that it is understandable that the international community seeks to respect the sovereignty of states, opting for “diplomatic respect”, but it is unacceptable that it ignores a “common objective”: the protection of human rights, which, according to the artist, were constantly violated during the post-electoral crisis in Mozambique. “In this regard, the international community allied itself with the system due to interests and diplomatic respect that exist. (…) The international community has its own interests, but there is one thing that is of common interest: human rights, which were constantly violated, a situation that has never been clearly condemned,” Sukuma declared.

The figures provided by Mozambican civil society organizations indicate that more than 350 people died during clashes between demonstrators, who reject the election results, and the Mozambican police during a series of protests that have taken place in Mozambique in recent months, with strikes and the vandalism of numerous establishments.

For Stewart Sukuma, the Mozambican authorities showed “unpreparedness” in cases of street protests, especially from a psychological point of view. “Even if a citizen were a direct threat to a police officer, shooting should be the last option to eliminate the danger. Only when there is absolutely no other option. We know that our police are not trained and prepared to face demonstrations,” he stressed.

Mozambique has been experiencing a climate of strong social unrest since October, with demonstrations and strikes called by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who rejects the election results of October 9, which gave victory to Daniel Chapo.

Currently, protests, now on a small scale, have been taking place in different parts of the country and, in addition to contesting the results, people are complaining about the rising cost of living and other social problems.

Since October, at least 353 people have died, including around two dozen minors, according to the Decide Platform.

The Mozambican government confirmed at least 80 deaths, in addition to the destruction of 1,677 commercial establishments, 177 schools and 23 health units during the demonstrations.

Born in 1963, in Cuamba, Niassa province, Luís Pereira, a reference in Mozambican music, is known in the artistic world as Stewart Sukuma, a name that means “to lift” in Zulu and ‘to
push’ in Swahili.

In addition to the Marrabenta Star Orchestra, he was part of several projects and bands, including Alambique, as a percussionist-vocalist, Mbila, as a vocalist, and Formação 82, as a percussionist-vocalist, and has won several national and international awards. In 1998, Sukuma moved to Boston, where he enrolled at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Author of albums such as “Afrikiti”, “Nkuvu”, “Boleia Africana” and “O meu lado B”, he combines traditional Mozambican music, especially marrabenta, with contemporary music, creating an energetic and danceable musical style melding Afro, pop and jazz sounds.

Source: Lusa