Despite Protest Ban, Mozambicans Continue to Demand Systemic Change

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by OkayAfrica. (@okayafrica)

“When the results were announced, it sparked a lot of doubts,” says Maputo-based writer Mauro Brito, “because from the reality perspective, seeing those reports stating that Frelimo won with [more than 70 percent], it would mean that the whole country is happy with the current situation, which is clearly not the case at the moment.”

Frelimo has been in power since Mozambique gained independence in 1975, dominating government affairs to what many in the country now believe is detrimental to the quality of life. Also, the ruling party has been accused of constantly manipulating the electoral process to ensure it remains in power, to the point of rigging elections in opposition stronghold provinces and cities. This recent election was also marred by severe lack of transparency, according to observers from the European Union.

“It’s about the condition of our lives, it’s not only electoral fraud,” freelance writer and journalist Eduardo Quive, who lives in Matola, a suburb of Maputo, tells OkayAfrica. “We have a lot of problems with freedom of expression. We have problems in health, employment, and education. So, it’s this moment people like it’s now or never, so it’s not just about the electoral situation.”

Momento que a polícia disparou gás lacrimogéneo contra um grupo de moto-táxi Txopela que estava a desfilar e a buzinar hoje no centro da cidade de #Maputo. A polícia disparou e houve caos no trânsito, resultando inclusive num choque entre viaturas. #Moçambiquepic.twitter.com/WWmlpur6AF

— Alexandre Nhampossa (@AllexandreMZ) November 14, 2024

As with protests in most of Africa, demonstrators were met with brutal force by police and state security. “From the very early stage, they were not allowing protesters to even stand or say anything, they were just shooting tear gas,” Brito says. He estimates that dozens of people have been killed by the police’s use of force, and hundreds people have been injured. He also says that the previously closed Lebombo border, which Mozambique shares with South Africa, is at a standstill due to strong military presence.

All over social media, with the hashtag #FreeMozambique on X especially, dozens of videos show police firing teargas at unarmed protesters, sometimes resorting to close-range force.

“The first problem is excessive force; so the police violence is normal, it’s what people were waiting for,” Quive says. “It seems that the police are oriented to kill or destroy the freedom of protests.” It’s not just the police, “border guards are attacking people,” Quive adds.

Speaking on the government’s ban on protests, interior minister Pascoal Ronda said the demonstrations are an act of terrorism, laying the blame solely on protesters and totally sidestepping the use of force by state security. “I no longer call these protests, I call them acts of subversion and terrorism because they terrorize people and children. That woman selling bananas can no longer sell them. People can’t go to work; this is terror.”

Quive believes that, in addition to being unprepared for demonstrations of this magnitude, the invoking of terrorism is meant to be a tool of distraction. “It’s easy for the police to talk about urban terrorism and this expression is not an accident, because we know the situation in Cabo Delgado,” he says, referring to the armed conflict in the country’s northern region due to insurgency.

Currently, thousands of Mozambicans are defying the protest ban. On Friday night, the streets of Maputo were flooded with protesters on a noise strike, which is supposed to be the last day of the fourth phase of the protests.

Both Brito and Quive aren’t very optimistic that the protests will lead to the results being overturned. Earlier on Friday, outgoing president Felipe Nyusicalled for unity, referencing the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement Frelimo signed with its main opposition Renamo in 2019, after decades of political instability. It’s the kind of dismissive messaging African governments are known for in the face of civil disobedience.

Also, Brito and Quive say they don’t believe that Chapo, the 49-year old surprise pick by Frelimo, will be able to bring social, economic and systemic change if he eventually assumes office. “I think [the protests] create some pressure,” Brito says, but he’s unsure that Chapo and Frelimo have the capacity to want to change.

While he doesn’t want to imagine the extent to which the demonstrations will get to before they dissipate, Quive admits that whatever happens next, “the future is uncertain.”