Mozambican police opened fire on supporters of opposition leader Venancio Mondlane in the capital, Maputo, on Wednesday, injuring a member of his entourage during a protest march, according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Mondlane’s supporters gathered ahead of President Daniel Chapo’s scheduled signing of an agreement with select political parties, aimed at addressing months of protests over Chapo’s disputed election victory from last year.
Although Mondlane finished second in the presidential race, he has been excluded from the talks surrounding the agreement, which aims to review the country’s electoral laws. Analysts suggest that Mondlane’s exclusion weakens the agreement’s potential to stabilize the resource-rich Southern African nation.
A police spokesperson confirmed that law enforcement had intervened to disperse marches in Maputo but declined to provide further details. Mondlane did not respond to media’ inquiries.
In a live video on Mondlane’s Facebook page, he was seen riding in a car down a street, surrounded by a crowd of supporters who were cheering and singing. The scene turned chaotic when gunshots rang out, causing people to scatter, and the video abruptly cut off.
Zenaida Machado, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that the organization had confirmed at least 10 injuries resulting from police actions on Wednesday. Machado condemned the police violence, noting that targeting peaceful opposition gatherings undermines efforts to achieve stability in Mozambique.
Local monitoring group Plataforma Decide reported that over 350 people have died in the protests that erupted following the October elections.
Mondlane vowed to continue his anti-government protests, stating that the agreement being signed by Chapo and other political parties was “without the people.”
Mondlane has accused Chapo and his Frelimo party of election rigging, while Western observers have questioned the fairness of the election. Frelimo, which has governed Mozambique since the end of Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, denies the allegations of electoral fraud.