South Africa Partially Reopens 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.
Mozambique has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years.
Update: This post has been updated with the latest information as of 6.00 p.m. GMT+2 on November 12.
The South African Border Management Authority (BMA) has announced that its Lebombo border post, its main border with Mozambique is partially open (for cargo operations) and will remain so as long as it is safe.
“This development paves the way for the full reopening of the port and enables the BMA and SARS (South African Revenue Service) teams to work diligently in clearing the current cargo backlog,” BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato said in a statement.
Last week, South Africa has temporarily closed the border in response to escalating tensions in Mozambique due to post-election protests and violence. 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.
Protests in Mozambique 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 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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