Why Mozambique Is Gripped by Its Worst Turmoil Since the 1990s
By Matthew Hill
By Matthew Hill
December 31, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- Waves of unrest have swept through Mozambique since a disputed Oct. 9 election, with security forces accused of killing dozens of protesters. The government was already grappling with an Islamic State-linked insurgency in the north of the country. One of the world’s poorest nations, Mozambique hasn’t been this unstable since a 1977-1992 civil war in which more than 1 million people died. The violence has disrupted the economy and risks further delaying the start of natural gas exports seen as key to the country’s future.
Why was the October election controversial?
Election-rigging claims are nothing new in the southeast African nation, where the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front, known by its Portuguese acronym Frelimo, has been in power since independence from Portugal 49 years ago. But the backlash from the population this time around has been unprecedented.
Even before voting day, there were concerns that the electoral authorities had registered more voters than the number of people old enough to cast ballots, and had made registration difficult for opposition supporters. European Union observers flagged signs of ballot-box stuffing and manipulation of results.
There were large discrepancies in the number of ballots cast in the three simultaneous elections — for the presidency, the national legislature and provincial assemblies. And when the Constitutional Council validated the result showing a win for the ruling party, it reduced the size of the victory without explaining its methodology, adding to doubts about the vote.
What triggered the unrest?
Protests broke out on Oct. 21 after unknown killers gunned down the lawyer of the leading opposition candidate. They intensified three days later after the National Electoral Commission announced that the governing party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, had secured 71% of the vote.
Opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, an evangelical pastor and former lawmaker, rejected as fraudulent the official results that ultimately gave him 24% of the vote, and said a parallel vote count showed he had won. Mondlane fled the country on the first day of the demonstrations and began using internet livestreams to encourage and organize the protests.
Claims of police brutality — including the use of live bullets to disperse protesters — further inflamed tensions.
What are the protesters demanding?
Their main goal has been to get the authorities to formally recognize Mondlane as the election winner. The protesters are also driven by dislike of Frelimo, and some of the party’s offices have been torched. Police stations and government offices have also been targeted.
The demonstrations come against a backdrop of worsening poverty over the past decade that’s widened the gap between rich and poor. Mozambique is now one of the world’s most unequal societies, and around one in three school leavers can’t find a job or some form of training. The median age is less than 18, and millions of people are unemployed.
Mondlane has also demanded that citizens be given a bigger share of the nation’s abundant natural resources. The country’s mines have been another target for the protesters.
What could turn things around?
A negotiated solution could be one way to solve the crisis. But as incumbent President Filipe Nyusi prepares to hand over power to Chapo in mid-January, neither has shown much enthusiasm for starting a dialogue.
Mondlane has signaled an openness to international mediation, which could come under the auspices of a regional bloc of which Mozambique is a member: the Southern African Development Community. For now, he’s in an undisclosed location outside the country and fears arrest — or worse — if he returns.
Electoral reform would be high on the list of opposition demands in any talks. The ruling party controls the authorities that oversee elections in Mozambique, which damages their credibility. There is little transparency in how the Constitutional Council validates the final results, which are not subject to appeal.
What does it all mean for the region’s economy?
The unrest has interrupted electricity supplies to Zambia and blocked one of the world’s most important trade corridors for chrome that’s used to make stainless steel. Thousands of citizens have fled to neighboring Eswatini and Malawi.
The turmoil has stretched the capacity of Mozambican security forces who were already fighting the Islamic State-linked insurgency in the northeastern Cabo Delgado province that’s home to some of Africa’s biggest natural gas deposits.
That conflict led to the suspension in early 2021 of a project led by France’s TotalEnergies SE to export liquefied natural gas from Mozambique. The latest protests could make the start of LNG exports an even more distant prospect.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Waves of unrest have swept through Mozambique since a disputed Oct. 9 election, with security forces accused of killing dozens of protesters. The government was already grappling with an Islamic State-linked insurgency in the north of the country. One of the world’s poorest nations, Mozambique hasn’t been this unstable since a 1977-1992 civil war in which more than 1 million people died. The violence has disrupted the economy and risks further delaying the start of natural gas exports seen as key to the country’s future.
Why was the October election controversial?
Election-rigging claims are nothing new in the southeast African nation, where the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front, known by its Portuguese acronym Frelimo, has been in power since independence from Portugal 49 years ago. But the backlash from the population this time around has been unprecedented.
Even before voting day, there were concerns that the electoral authorities had registered more voters than the number of people old enough to cast ballots, and had made registration difficult for opposition supporters. European Union observers flagged signs of ballot-box stuffing and manipulation of results.
There were large discrepancies in the number of ballots cast in the three simultaneous elections — for the presidency, the national legislature and provincial assemblies. And when the Constitutional Council validated the result showing a win for the ruling party, it reduced the size of the victory without explaining its methodology, adding to doubts about the vote.
What triggered the unrest?
Protests broke out on Oct. 21 after unknown killers gunned down the lawyer of the leading opposition candidate. They intensified three days later after the National Electoral Commission announced that the governing party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, had secured 71% of the vote.
Opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, an evangelical pastor and former lawmaker, rejected as fraudulent the official results that ultimately gave him 24% of the vote, and said a parallel vote count showed he had won. Mondlane fled the country on the first day of the demonstrations and began using internet livestreams to encourage and organize the protests.
Claims of police brutality — including the use of live bullets to disperse protesters — further inflamed tensions.
What are the protesters demanding?
Their main goal has been to get the authorities to formally recognize Mondlane as the election winner. The protesters are also driven by dislike of Frelimo, and some of the party’s offices have been torched. Police stations and government offices have also been targeted.
The demonstrations come against a backdrop of worsening poverty over the past decade that’s widened the gap between rich and poor. Mozambique is now one of the world’s most unequal societies, and around one in three school leavers can’t find a job or some form of training. The median age is less than 18, and millions of people are unemployed.
Mondlane has also demanded that citizens be given a bigger share of the nation’s abundant natural resources. The country’s mines have been another target for the protesters.
What could turn things around?
A negotiated solution could be one way to solve the crisis. But as incumbent President Filipe Nyusi prepares to hand over power to Chapo in mid-January, neither has shown much enthusiasm for starting a dialogue.
Mondlane has signaled an openness to international mediation, which could come under the auspices of a regional bloc of which Mozambique is a member: the Southern African Development Community. For now, he’s in an undisclosed location outside the country and fears arrest — or worse — if he returns.
Electoral reform would be high on the list of opposition demands in any talks. The ruling party controls the authorities that oversee elections in Mozambique, which damages their credibility. There is little transparency in how the Constitutional Council validates the final results, which are not subject to appeal.
What does it all mean for the region’s economy?
The unrest has interrupted electricity supplies to Zambia and blocked one of the world’s most important trade corridors for chrome that’s used to make stainless steel. Thousands of citizens have fled to neighboring Eswatini and Malawi.
The turmoil has stretched the capacity of Mozambican security forces who were already fighting the Islamic State-linked insurgency in the northeastern Cabo Delgado province that’s home to some of Africa’s biggest natural gas deposits.
That conflict led to the suspension in early 2021 of a project led by France’s TotalEnergies SE to export liquefied natural gas from Mozambique. The latest protests could make the start of LNG exports an even more distant prospect.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Gemfields makes decision over ruby mining after groups ‘took advantage’ of situation to try to invade its site
Mark Sweney
THE GUARDIAN
Fri 27 Dec 2024
The London-listed mining company Gemfields said it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups “took advantage” of political unrest to set fire and attempt to invade its site, resulting in two deaths.
Gemfields, one of the world’s largest miners of coloured gemstones, said more than 200 people associated with illegal ruby mining attempted to invade the residential village built by the company next to its Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) operation in northern Mozambique on Christmas Eve.
The company, which is incorporated in Guernsey and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges, said the groups were trying to take advantage of the widespread civil unrest after the controversial and disputed national election.
Gemfields said on Friday that looters set fire to community buildings built by MRM and that security forces, made up of the Mozambican police and the military, protected the residential village in a “staged escalation of force” that resulted in two individuals being shot and killed.
On the same day, a vocational training centre built by MRM, and operated by Mozambique’s Institute for Vocational Training and Labor Studies, in the nearby village of Wikupuri was looted and damaged.
The unrest resulted in Gemfields temporarily relocating some of its more than 500 employees, halting its operation since Christmas Eve. It began a phased return of staff on Thursday.
“Given the company’s priority remains the safety and security of its personnel, a number of people were temporarily relocated to off-site locations given the increased risk profile,” Gemfields said.
“MRM maintained a sizeable presence on site of more than 500 persons across employees, contractors and security components. While MRM’s operations were halted from 24 December, MRM intends to return to normal operations before the end of the year. The company continues to closely monitor the evolving situation and will provide further updates as necessary.”
On Monday, Mozambique’s top court confirmed the victory of the ruling party, Frelimo, in the October election, which caused widespread protests by groups claiming the vote was rigged.
The Constitutional Council has the final say over the electoral process.
At least 130 people have been killed in clashes with police, according to the civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide.
The London-listed mining company Gemfields said it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups “took advantage” of political unrest to set fire and attempt to invade its site, resulting in two deaths.
Gemfields, one of the world’s largest miners of coloured gemstones, said more than 200 people associated with illegal ruby mining attempted to invade the residential village built by the company next to its Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) operation in northern Mozambique on Christmas Eve.
The company, which is incorporated in Guernsey and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges, said the groups were trying to take advantage of the widespread civil unrest after the controversial and disputed national election.
Gemfields said on Friday that looters set fire to community buildings built by MRM and that security forces, made up of the Mozambican police and the military, protected the residential village in a “staged escalation of force” that resulted in two individuals being shot and killed.
On the same day, a vocational training centre built by MRM, and operated by Mozambique’s Institute for Vocational Training and Labor Studies, in the nearby village of Wikupuri was looted and damaged.
The unrest resulted in Gemfields temporarily relocating some of its more than 500 employees, halting its operation since Christmas Eve. It began a phased return of staff on Thursday.
“Given the company’s priority remains the safety and security of its personnel, a number of people were temporarily relocated to off-site locations given the increased risk profile,” Gemfields said.
“MRM maintained a sizeable presence on site of more than 500 persons across employees, contractors and security components. While MRM’s operations were halted from 24 December, MRM intends to return to normal operations before the end of the year. The company continues to closely monitor the evolving situation and will provide further updates as necessary.”
On Monday, Mozambique’s top court confirmed the victory of the ruling party, Frelimo, in the October election, which caused widespread protests by groups claiming the vote was rigged.
The Constitutional Council has the final say over the electoral process.
At least 130 people have been killed in clashes with police, according to the civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide.
The Frelimo party has governed the southern African country since 1975.
Kenmare Resources, which operates a titanium mine in northern Mozambique, has said there have been no material incidents at its operations and no damage to its facilities.
Gemfields owns expansive mining operations including Kagem in Zambia, which produces almost a quarter of the world’s emeralds, as well as the luxury jeweller Fabergé, known for its lavish eggs. In the past, Gemfields has used stars such as the Hollywood actor Mila Kunis as the face of the company.
Kenmare Resources, which operates a titanium mine in northern Mozambique, has said there have been no material incidents at its operations and no damage to its facilities.
Gemfields owns expansive mining operations including Kagem in Zambia, which produces almost a quarter of the world’s emeralds, as well as the luxury jeweller Fabergé, known for its lavish eggs. In the past, Gemfields has used stars such as the Hollywood actor Mila Kunis as the face of the company.
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