Mozambique - October 2024

In the wake of Mozambique’s disputed 9 October poll, protesters clashed with police in deadly confrontations, as thousands took to the streets over alleged election fraud. On 16 October, presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for a nationwide shutdown on 21st  of the month, as allegations of serious election irregularities emerged from election observers. Tensions escalated in the wake of the apparent assassination of Mondlane’s elections lawyer, Elvino Dias, and a senior official from the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Partido Otimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique, PODEMOS), Paulo Gwambe, who were shot dead in the capital Maputo on 19 October. The protests on 21 October (and those which followed on the 24th and 25th) were met with a heavy response from the police, who deployed armoured vehicles and fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the protesters. Some protesters threw rocks at the police, barricaded streets with burning tires and burned down public buildings. The authorities also shut down the internet. By 26 October, the police had killed at least 11 people.             

Sources: International Crisis Group, The Africa Report, British Broadcasting Corporation, Africa Confidential, Human Rights Watch, Mozambique Political Process Bulletin