South Africa Closes Border With Mozambique Amid Post-Election Protests
Tensions continue to grow in Mozambique following the ruling party’s win in the recently concluded general elections.
South Africa has temporarily closed the Lebombo border post, which is its main border with Mozambique, in response to escalating tensions in the latter. There have also been reports of vehicles getting torched by protesters on the Mozambican side, with some truck drivers saying that the goods they were transporting had been looted. The South African Border Management Authority has said that the port of entry will remain closed until further notice, and has advised travelers to use alternative routes.
Protests in the country began days before the announcement of the October 9 election results following the brutal murder of two opposition officials. The protests intensified when the ruling party, Frelimo — which has been in power since the country gained independence in 1975 — was announced as the winner of the polls.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 today’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. The government has also 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.
Nix 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.”
Earlier today, videos circulated on social media, showing protesters hanging onto military tanks and 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, 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 earlier this 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. As of publication time, the latest is a call for “the demonstrations [to] continue firm and strong until the electoral truth is restored.”
-
Over the course of 2024, 20 African countries will be holding elections. For more election coverage, check out our Election Tracker.