Good afternoon. This morning in Pemba, the capital city of Cabo Delgado province, protesters tore down a statue of Alberto Chipande, a (living) veteran of Mozambique’s war of independence and a former defence minister. A video shared on social media shows the statue being dragged along the ground. It was a vivid symbol that the demonstrations engulfing the country at the moment are about more than just a perception that the elections in October were stolen. It is not just statues of Frelimo politicians that are being attacked: Esperança Bias, the Frelimo speaker of the parliament, was pelted with stones yesterday (see below).
The statue of Chipande was probably targeted not just because he represents ruling party Frelimo, which has undoubtedly masterminded much of the vote-rigging, but also because he is perceived to have enriched himself at the expense of the province. Chipande has numerous business interests in Cabo Delgado, including in the crime and corruption-ridden timber trade, and his properties have been attacked by insurgents in the past. Houses built on land Chipande controlled, to which he did not object for a long time, were demolished in the past and the occupants were left homeless.
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From the Zitamar Live Blog:
All this speaks to a deep-seated resentment against Frelimo and, more generally, the people in power, which has been unleashed by the dispute over the election results. The party is seen, not without justification, as having kept the masses poor and deprived while making money for itself and its elites. If Frelimo did not know it before, it is discovering that people have a lot to be angry about.
