The Mozambican capital city of Maputo is bracing itself for what could be an historic mass demonstration tomorrow, after two weeks in which a general strike and conflict between police and protesters has already made daily life difficult for the city’s residents.
Public transport around the city has been largely paralysed, mobile internet access has been shut down or restricted, and offices have been shut since opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for a general strike a week ago in protest at vote-rigging in last month’s elections, in which he says he has won the presidential vote. Yesterday, riots at the border town of Ressano Garcia caused the border with South Africa to be closed — which risks causing food shortages in the capital and across southern Mozambique.
Over 100,000 could gather in Maputo tomorrow
Despite actions taken by the police to discourage people from moving from northern provinces to concentrate in Maputo for Thursday’s march, a spokesperson for the Podemos party, which backs Mondlane, said on Wednesday that many demonstrators had managed to reach Maputo by road. Intelligence sources estimated that a crowd of more than 100,000 could take up positions on Thursday morning at assembly points suggested on digital flyers with Mondlane’s image, being distributed on social media. It is not clear if the flyers were approved by Mondlane or not.
On Wednesday, riots in Ressano Garcia, the main border post with South Africa, halted all commercial movements to and from Maputo. This has caused a huge queue at Lebombo, on the South African side of the border, of trucks moving bringing mineral ores to Maputo port. But Maputo also imports much of its food from South Africa, and if alternative solutions are not found soon, there could be shortages of food and price hikes on products still available in markets and shops in metropolitan Maputo.Ahead of the demonstration that Mondlane has called for in Maputo on Thursday, the Mozambican minister of defence Cristóvão Chume yesterday made a public warning that the armed forces might intervene if the “constitutional order” was threatened.
Defence minister threatens to use armed forces
Speaking on behalf of the Mozambican security and defence forces, which includes both the military and police, he said the current unrest had been handled up to now by the police as a matter of law and order, while the military has been on the streets to help clear roads and to support affected communities.
In a room full of top military and police officers, he said there were indications that preparations were underway for a “removal of the democratically elected government,” adding that “nobody prepares a march to Ponta Vermelha (the official residence of the president of Mozambique) to take a dip in the pool, for pure pleasure,” a reference to an earlier humorous comment made by Mondlane.
Before Chume started speaking, rumours on social media were suggesting he would call for a state of emergency, but the defence minister has no legal powers to impose it. President Filipe Nyusi, speaking a few hours before Chume, said he would like dialogue with the “interested parties”, but insisted on waiting for the election results to be confirmed by the Constitutional Council. But the credibility of both the National Elections Commission (CNE) and the council have been eroded after a number of politically motivated decisions in recent years.
Nyusi and Chume both denied the presence of Rwandan troops in Maputo, echoing denials by a Rwandan government spokesperson. Rwandan government security forces are present in Cabo Delgado province, fighting alongside the Mozambican against a radical islamist insurgency, but there is no evidence that they are in Maputo.
Mondlane called the defence minister’s pronouncements “shameful”, and warned that any more shootings would only “increase anger, hatred and revolt of Mozambicans”.
