Three months after the controversial elections in Mozambique, opposition leader Venancio Mondlane has returned to the country. Hundreds of his supporters gathered at the airport, where security forces used tear gas and blocked roads to prevent more people from arriving.
The elections, held in early October, declared the ruling Frelimo party, in power for 50 years, as the winner. However, the opposition and international observers reported widespread fraud, leading to significant protests and violence.
More than a hundred people, potentially hundreds, have been killed since. Mondlane fled the country, fearing for his life after two party members were shot dead in a car shortly after the elections.
From abroad, he called for peaceful protest. Thousands of Mozambicans have fled the country due to the violence, impacting businesses as well—leading to the shutdown of a major mine at the end of December.
Large-scale riots erupted just before Christmas, following the official confirmation of the election results. Shops were looted, police cars, stations, and other buildings were set on fire, and a prison was stormed, resulting in the escape of thousands of prisoners.
Upon his arrival in the capital, Maputo, Mondlane stated he returned to counter the narrative that dialogue cannot occur due to his absence and to stop the violence against protesters and the persecution of his supporters. He expressed a desire to be closer to the protest movement.
Mozambique, home to about 35 million people, many of whom live in poverty, has been governed by Frelimo since its independence from Portugal in 1975, with the party facing repeated accusations of electoral fraud.
Source: NOS