Good afternoon. Mozambique is still waiting to see whether President Filipe Nyusi’s planned talks between the presidential candidates goes ahead tomorrow. Opposition candidate Venâncio Mondlane has not yet confirmed that he will attend, something he has said that he wants to do virtually (unsurprisingly, given that there is a warrant for his arrest waiting for him if he sets foot in Mozambique). Nyusi’s office, in turn, has yet to confirm that it agrees to this.
In the meantime, the authorities continue to try to discredit Mondlane, who insists he won last month’s disputed elections, as an outlaw and an inciter of violence and terrorism. Hence the latest lawsuit issued by the Attorney-General’s office seeking MZN105m ($1.7m) to pay for damage done by demonstrators who have been protesting over the elections (see below). This lawsuit is on top of the MZN32m they already said they were after from him and from the Podemos party which supports him. In an interview broadcast by the British broadcaster BBC News last week, police commander Bernardino Rafael did not hold back, saying of the demonstrations: “This is not a protest and it’s not about the elections, but it is subversion and competition for terrorism in our country.”
The full Daily Briefing continues below for Pro subscribers. Subscribers to the Zitamar News tier can read the top half, including the full leader article, here.
The latest from Zitamar News:
David Pacheco
As usual, when ruling party Frelimo and its supporters in government start throwing accusations around, they could take a look in the mirror. Where are the criminal investigations brought by the Attorney-General’s office for electoral fraud? Many complaints have been filed since the election with courts, who have the power to refer the complaints to public prosecutors.
