South Africa Partially Reopens Border With Mozambique Amid Post-Election Protests

Opposition candidate Venâncio Mondlane had earlier called for a march to the country’s capital, Maputo for a third wave of demonstrations. Mondlane scrapped plans to lead last week's march, alleging that there were attempts to assassinate him at his residence in Johannesburg, where he has been hiding since the announcement of the results.

On the ground, protesters continue to face violent repression from state security in the form of teargas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition, according to social media videos. As at last week, the government threatened to deploy soldiers in order to quell the protest action that has been going on since the announcement of last month’s election results.

Migz Wilson, a musician who was part of the protests today says things started off relatively calm, but the police scuppered the demonstrators’ plan to convene at a plaza. “They’re going all in. The most weird part is that there are other things going on in the country, like kidnappings and murders, but they never have the force for that.”

Last week, videos circulated on social media, showing protesters hanging onto military tanks as they made their march, with users describing it as solidarity from the soldiers. But Wilson says it was an ambush. “We were actually ambushed because the military convinced us to come with them. Suddenly, they got out of the way and started shooting at us,” says Wilson.

Iria, a creative professional who works between Maputo and Johannesburg and prefers not to use her last name for fear of state retribution, explains that people are protesting out of “hope for improved leadership, for someone who genuinely cares about the population.” Iria adds that demonstrators are also on the streets because they believe the votes were rigged. “If 71 percent of the country voted for Frelimo, then why is everyone else protesting?”

Writing in the Daily Maverick last week, the director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, Professor Adriano Nuvunga, depicted the situation on the ground: “Unarmed demonstrators — many of them young, some even children — face rubber bullets, tear gas, and, in extreme cases, live ammunition. So far, 20 people have been killed, more than 390 injured, and about 800 have been arbitrarily detained. These numbers depict a humanitarian crisis, a scene of state-sanctioned brutality that surpasses all acceptable limits.”

Mondlane continues to share posts on his Facebook page which he has used to rally supporters and citizens.

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