Unrest in Mozambique: Police Drive Armored Vehicle Into Protesters

nairobi - The situation in Mozambique is escalating as protests continue and the President seeks safety in a coastal town.

The unrest in Mozambique in southern Africa is threatening to spiral out of control. Amid ongoing protests, demonstrators have already been killed.

Shortly after, videos surfaced on various social media platforms of a helicopter taking off from the center of the capital city of Maputo, reportedly carrying President Filipe Nyusi. He was said to have been transported to the safer coastal town of Vilankulos on the Indian Ocean, 750 kilometers away from the capital.

Nyusi is currently the president of the country until his successor, Daniel Chapo, is installed. Chapo is the candidate representing the Frelimo party, which has been in power since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Chapo is said to have won the recent elections on October 9th with seventy percent of the votes. His opponent, Venâncio Mondlane from the largest opposition party Renamo, disputes the result, alleging massive manipulation of the ballots. The fifty-year-old pastor and radio presenter Mondlane is a newcomer to Mozambican politics, having previously had to relinquish a position of power, the mayoralty of Maputo.

Historically, Frelimo and Renamo have had strained relations. They fought a bloody civil war from 1977 to 1992, leaving the country with a million dead and fields littered with uncleared landmines.

In response to the election results, Mondlane, who is popular among the youth, called on his thousands of followers through social media to take to the streets, and his call was widely answered. Since the election results, the streets across the country have not been calm, and despite the casualties, the youth are undeterred. Subsequently, a lawyer for Mondlane was shot dead in his car by unknown assailants, along with a parliamentary candidate who was also in the vehicle.

This fueled the national demonstration on October 21st, where the police intervened with tear gas and targeted shooting at the protesters. Mondlane fled the country and is likely in South Africa, from where he addresses his supporters live. South Africa has closed its border with Mozambique.

It is estimated that fifty people have lost their lives during the protests. The situation spiraled out of control due to suspicions of corruption within Frelimo, which was initially popular as the first sitting political party at independence. However, since 1975, the country has descended to being one of the least developed countries in the world, ranking 183 out of 193, according to the United Nations. Unemployment is high, and the cost of living is also escalating.

Besides the political unrest, the country is also grappling with an extremist uprising in the north of the country in Cabo del Gado province. The government aims to quell this rebellion with 5,000 soldiers from Rwanda, but the situation remains turbulent. The uprising is happening in an area where massive gas fields have been discovered, which could almost single-handedly lift Mozambique out of poverty.

Sitting President Nyusi was in discussions with key members of Frelimo, Renamo, and other opposition parties to seek a resolution. The path forward in the talks following the president's flight to a safer location is unclear. Mozambique joins a series of African countries where the youth are making their voices heard, as seen previously in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria.