Venâncio Mondlane is ready to lose his life for his country.

Speaking during a Facebook Live broadcast last night, Mondlane – the Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique’s (Podemos) presidential candidate – called for two days of unity but vowed that once the reprieve was over, demonstrations would continue until ‘electoral truth is restored’ in Mozambique.

He urged Mozambicans to come together today and tomorrow to transition into the new year and sing the national anthem, hand-in-hand, from 23:45 until midnight. He urged them to cook in the streets to restore unity among neighbours.

However, on Thursday, January 2, he said new measures will be announced for the ‘Tip of Spear’ protest phase.

Mondlane alleges that the ruling party, the Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo), is using the police to create terror in neighbourhoods to deter people from protesting.

“The objective is to make it seem like they [the police] are the protesters and thus divide the people so there is no membership in the demonstrations. This is a trick Frelimo has adopted to continue governing,” reads a Nossa Moçambicanidade Facebook post that recaps Mondlane’s broadcast.

Road map on the way forward

Yesterday, NGO Plataforma Eleitoral Decide, said in a Facebook post that Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi met with the leader of the Mozambican National Resistance, Ossufo Momade; the president of the Mozambique Democratic Movement, Lutero Simango; president-elect Daniel Chapo of Frelimo; and the president of Podemos, Albino Forquilha. In the meeting, Podemos reaffirmed their position of not recognising the election results but said they are open to internal dialogue to discuss the political, economic and social situation in the country.

The parties said they would establish a ‘road map’ for dialogue that will be presented in the coming days.

No foreign mediation

According to an article published today by Club of Mozambique, a Mozambican news network, Nyusi ruled out the possibility of foreign mediation to address the country’s post-election tensions, advocating for local dialogue and solutions free from ‘schemes, arrangements, and interests’.

“We believe in our own capacity because when the matter is handled by ourselves, it allows for a solution without schemes, arrangements, or interests (…) There are no small people, no small parties; Mozambique belongs to everyone, and we must be in a position to embrace all perspectives,” said Nyusi during a meeting with the leaders of most of the political parties represented in the next parliament.

Protest actions started soon after the election results were announced late in October. When it was declared that Frelimo candidate Chapo had secured over 70% of the votes, Mondlane immediately called for protest action.

“Solutions for Mozambique can only be found by us Mozambicans. We can have those who facilitate or support us, as we’ve had in the past, but the most complex solutions, which took years to resolve, were found by us, Mozambicans,” said Nyusi yesterday.

“If we opt for exclusion, we won’t be able to solve the problems. When there are issues, and when we all come together, we emerge more triumphant,” he added.

The Club of Mozambique reported today that at least 175 people died in the last week of post-election protests in Mozambique, bringing the total death toll to 277 since October 21, along with 586 injured, according to the latest tally by the Decide electoral platform.

South African intervention

Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, told Caxton Network News yesterday that the South African government remains committed to supporting peace and stability in Mozambique.

“Since the outbreak of post-election protests and violence, the government has been involved in a series of ongoing engagements with the authorities in Mozambique.

“These ongoing bilateral engagements, which are being held at multiple levels of leadership, are an expression of solidarity with the people of Mozambique and a response to a concerning security situation that continues to threaten social and economic stability between the two countries and the region as a whole,” he said.

He said that there are no plans at the moment to evacuate South African Embassy personnel from Maputo.

Yesterday, Caxton Network News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa had sent Prof Sydney Mufamadi as a special envoy to engage with the various stakeholders in Mozambique.

In addition, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure has intensified its operations along the South Africa-Mozambique border to combat opportunistic crimes that may arise because of unrest in neighbouring Mozambique.

“We remain on high alert for any illegal movements, with our drone technology deployed to assist with surveillance,” said Phiri.

He said trucks are being processed in both directions at the Lebombo border post and said there are no queues on the N4 corridor towards the port of entry. “The processing of travellers is carrying on as normal.”

Speaking to Caxton Network News yesterday, Siphiwe Dlamini, the head of communication in the Department of Defence, said that the SANDF has not been asked to deploy extra personnel to Mozambique, but was continuing with its routine border patrols. “The SANDF will be informed by the government on whether it has a role to play in Mozambique and what that role will be,” he said.