Item 1 of 2 Mozambique opposition leader Venancio Mondlane speaks to the media as he arrives at the Maputo International Airport, after fleeing in the days following a hotly contested election in October that sparked demonstrations in which dozens of protesters have since been killed in the capital Maputo, Mozambique, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Regulo Cuna/File Photo

[1/2] Mozambique opposition leader Venancio Mondlane speaks to the media as he arrives at the Maputo International Airport, after fleeing in the days following a hotly contested election in October that sparked demonstrations in which dozens of protesters have since been killed in the capital Maputo,… Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more

MAPUTO, July 23 (Reuters) – Mozambique is seeking to prosecute the country’s main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, over civil unrest that followed a disputed election last year, a document presented to Mondlane by prosecutors showed.

Mondlane, who says President Daniel Chapo of the long-ruling Frelimo party won the election through vote-rigging, was summoned by prosecutors on Tuesday. He was shown the 40-page document laying out a series of accusations including that he incited the unrest.

An adviser to Mondlane shared the document with Reuters on Wednesday and said the opposition politician denied all the prosecutors’ accusations.

Prosecutors in the resource-rich Southern African country declined to comment.

The post-election protests, in which more than 300 people were killed, were the largest against Frelimo since independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975.

Frelimo denies allegations of electoral fraud, though Western observers say October’s vote was not free and fair.

There had been indications that Chapo and Mondlane were looking to build bridges, as the two politicians met for talks in March and again in May. Chapo also launched a “national dialogue” and invited Mondlane to serve on a presidential advisory body.

Louw Nel, a political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa, said attempts to prosecute Mondlane would “weigh on the political compromise Mozambique’s political actors reached in March”.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Suggested Topics:

Read Next

ANALYSIS Rwandan rebels’ fate clouds Trump’s vision for mineral-rich Congo

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. on Wednesday against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, centered on her claim that France’s first lady is male.

Site Index

About Reuters

Stay Informed

Information you can trust

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Read More