Security forces in Mozambique opened fire on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of supporters of opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, who asserts he won the elections a week prior. According to a local activist and multiple videos shared on social media, at least one person sustained injuries during the incident in Nampula. However, this has yet to be verified by officials.
Mondlane and his supporters had marched through the city to protest the announcement from election authorities that the ruling party, Frelimo, had won the October 9 vote in Nampula province with 66%. This province, the largest in the country, is known as an opposition stronghold.
In 2023, a police officer lost his life during protests in the region after Frelimo was declared the winner of municipal elections.
The elections held on October 9, which encompassed presidential, parliamentary, and provincial governor positions, are expected to reaffirm Frelimo’s long-standing control since Mozambique gained independence from Portugal 49 years ago. Official results nationwide are anticipated on October 24.
Mondlane, who is backed by the small Podemos party, declared victory almost immediately after polling day and has organised a nationwide strike for October 21 to contest what he calls widespread electoral fraud. Videos on his Facebook account show him in Nampula, surrounded by supporters chanting his name. Other clips later depicted demonstrators armed with stones seeking refuge as gunfire rang out.
Subsequent videos on the same account depicted demonstrators carrying stones and then taking cover as shots were fired.
“The march began at 8:00 am… after the arrival of Venancio Mondlane in the city of Nampula,” civil society activist Ivaldo Nazare in the town told AFP. “The police and army were out in force”, he said.
“They started shooting to disperse the crowd and shot and injured two young men,” he said. This number could not be verified independently.
A bleeding man in a vehicle in Nampula was shown in a video that was posted on social media. The details of the incident could not be verified.
During a press briefing, police spokesperson Gilberto Inguane stated that no injuries could be confirmed.
“We also found out about this through videos on social media, but we still need to check what happened,” he said.
Police used “dispersal methods” after demonstrators had thrown stones at them and set tyres on fire, Inguane said, adding that four people were arrested.
On Tuesday, the Mozambique attorney general cautioned Mondlane that declaring victory before official results were released could prompt social unrest and was unconstitutional.