Over the weekend, a group of former Renamo guerrilla fighters publicly accused Ossufo Momade, the leader of Mozambique’s largest opposition party, of betraying Renamo, demanding that he steps down.
At the heart of the accusations is what they see as systematic violation of Renamo statutes, which warrants the party to call an extraordinary congress to appoint a new leader. Timosse Maquinze, speaking at a press conference on Saturday in the central Mozambican city of Beira said that “on behalf of the fighters present and not present […] we demand that Ossufo Momade resign as president of Renamo.”
“Once President Ossufo Momade’s inability to lead Renamo has been proven, we demand that the president of the national council urgently convene an extraordinary congress so that, in a peaceful way, Renamo finds a leadership that corresponds to the wishes of the party members,” said Maquinze, accusing him of also creating a group to persecute and expel members without rhyme or reason from the central base of its armed wing, as well as cutting subsidies of many members and officials.
Furthermore, the former guerrillas decry the process of demobilisation, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), which led to the signing of a peace agreement signed between the government and Renamo.
The DDR process envisaged the provision of pensions for the former guerrillas. It was only recently that government approved the pensions.
Comment
The accusations are not devoid of substance. Ossufo Momade’s tenure at the helm of Renamo has corresponded with the party’s poorest performance both electorally and performative politics.
It is not the first time that Momade’s leadership has been challenged by prominent leaders of the party’s army wing.
It is also not the first time that Momade is accused of having created a group to persecute members deemed uncontrollably by the leadership. For instance, Momade has sidelined Ivone Soares, and has attempted to shame Manuel Araújo, the mayor of the central city of Quelimane.
Mozambique Insights understands that, of late, Momade’s target seems to be popular and outspoken member of parliament Venâncio Mondlane, who was called before the party leadership and ordered to stop speaking publicly. Apparently, Mondlane refused the order, arguing that before joining Renamo, he was already a social activist and could not stop commenting on the country’s political and social issues.
Rather than focusing on organising the party to challenge Frelimo, Momade’s focus is his internal opposition. This seems to be taking much of his time to the detriment of national politics – it is no wonder that Renamo has been lethargic and aimless, with no alternative vision for the country.
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