The chairperson of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo party, Filipe Nyusi, faced an open challenge to address a pressing concern for both the party and the nation: the inclusion of plans for his succession in the agenda of the party’s Central Committee scheduled for 5-6 April in Maputo.
Raising a point of order during the opening of the national conference of the Association of Veterans of the National Liberation Struggle (ACLLN), the war veteran and former State Administration minister, Óscar Monteiro, told the both agendas for the ACLLN national conference and the party’s Central Committee were ignoring the most important point of the succession.
With Nyusi stepping down in January 2025, at the end of the constitutional second five-year term, barring any surprises, Frelimo needs to discuss potential candidates who will vie internally for the position of party presidential nominee for the forthcoming October 2024 general and presidential elections.
However, Nyusi and his secretary-general, Roque Silva, have avoided talking about the issue. But Monteiro through the issue of succession was the elephant in the room. “I would ask you, Mr President, for us not to leave these magnificent meetings without discussion the succession, especially because it’s too late and that could be damaging for the party,” he said.
Nyusi seemed to be taken aback as he pressed Monteiro to clearly state what he wanted to see happen.
Comment
Nyusi should have seen it coming. Óscar Monteiro is a very frontal person, who has never been afraid of speaking his mind and what he thinks it is important for the party and country. It was Monteiro who forced then president Armando Guebuza to address the issue of the hidden debts and was part of the group that demanded that the latter opens up the debate on his succession.
Although Nyusi is clearly alone in the middle of a jungle, he still cannot see the forest for the trees. His attitude in wanting to remain in charge of the party and the state goes against every governing principle – democracy and rule of law – adopted by Mozambique, and borders on autocracy and authoritarianism.
He does not seem to understand the times and not does he understand the situation, and seems intent in clinging to power in a childish and dangerous way. “That’s another elephant in Frelimo’s room. Any step he takes is damaging,” an African affairs analyst told Mozambique Insights.
He should realise that his time has passed and he must give in to the cries of succession with honour, integrity and great maturity, or risk of fueling resentment and repeating Guebuza’s saga, who made enemies of most members in the end of his tenure.
It is difficult to understand who Nyusi listens to or who advises him, whether in Frelimo, in the Presidency or even at the level of institutions such as SISE (State Intelligence and Security Service) – what analysis do they make and what kind of information or memo briefs they pass on to a president, who acts in a very inconsistent and even problematic way.
Take Thursday, for example, a senior Frelimo member was once again disrespected. Almost dismissing Monteiro’s liberation struggles credentials, Nyusi disrespected him by interrupting him in the middle of his address to the plenary, which begs the question: What example does this set for society? What message does it send to the party itself? Above all, what does he mean by this attitude? Which Frelimo is this? Many of Nyusi’s comrades and the larger public might have asked themselves the same questions, as it is becoming a habit of his.
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