Rights group urges Mozambique to investigate human rights violations amid ongoing post-election crackdown News
Teixant, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rights group urges Mozambique to investigate human rights violations amid ongoing post-election crackdown

Amnesty International urged Mozambique’s FRELIMO-led government on Thursday to launch investigations into alleged severe human rights violations committed amid the ongoing post-election crackdown and ensure effective reparation to victims and survivors.

Violent confrontations between protesters and security forces broke out due to the announcement by Mozambique’s Constitutional Council that FRELIMO candidate Daniel Chapo had won the presidential election with 65 percent of the vote. Monitoring groups recorded 300 deaths and more than 700 injuries in mid-January this year, and the number has been rising. The groups also witnessed a multitude of cases of arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment.

Further, Amnesty International condemned the attacks on several reporters and the unlawful detention of Arlindo Chissale, an opposition journalist, who was reportedly killed by military forces.

Khanyo Farisè, Amnesty International deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, described the crackdown as “the bloodiest election cycle in Mozambique’s post-civil war history.” While the government indicated earlier possible investigations and indictments without disclosing details of the cases, Farisè urged the authorities to ensure their transparency and credibility.

After the national elections held on 9 October 2024, Mozambique’s opposition PODEMOS party questioned the preliminary results that showed the ruling Frelimo party candidate Daniel Chapo was ahead in the vote, alleging the party of vote-rigging. Nationwide demonstrations broke out on 21 October 2024 as senior PODEMOS official Paulo Guambe and opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane’s lawyer were killed by an unidentified gunman two days ago. The clashes intensified on October 24 and 25, following the security forces’ reportedly using tear gas and firing with live bullets indiscriminately into crowds, including children and bystanders in nearby residential areas. According to Bernardino Rafael, Police Chief at the time, a violent prison riot resulted in the deaths of at least 33 inmates, and 17 police officers were killed during the unrest.

Relatedly in November 2024, Internet monitoring organization NetBlocks reported the implementation of restrictions by authorities on social media and messaging platforms, allegedly violating the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Apart from Amnesty International, several international human rights organizations and rights groups have deplored the escalating assault on civilians’ fundamental rights. They demanded the end of post-election violence, accountability for human rights violations, and justice for the victims.

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