The late Mozambican opposition Renamo party, Afonso Dhlakama, had perfected a warped way to negotiate deals with the ruling Frelimo party: whenever he felt he was not getting his way, he would quietly scamper into the bush to command Renamo’s guerrillas.
After months or years of waging a low intensity warfare, government would relent and invariably a compromise would be reached, and Dhlakama would emerge from the bushes to be received by party members with great fanfare.
Ossufo Momade, the current Renamo leader, does neither have the guerrilla fighters nor Dhlakama’s charisma. And to make matters worse, he does not seem to have what it takes to lead the party. Little wonder Renamo is a shadow of its former self.
Without the charisma or the fighters, Momade will accept whatever he is given to hang on to the Renamo leadership.
Two weeks ago, President Filipe Nyusi met with Momade to discuss the issue of holding district election in 2024, and the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme.
The DDR programme is the cornerstone of the Maputo Definitive Agreement signed in August 2018 geared towards the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former Renamo fighters into the police and armed forces ranks and create conditions for the former combatants to return home. Key to this was the closing of all Renamo bases and the payment of pensions for said fighters,
The holding of district elections was agreed between President Filipe Nyusi and the late Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama, which resulted in a constitutional amendment to accommodate the will of the two leaders in 2019. But Nyusi and Frelimo have decided to postpone the holding of district elections.
Speaking after the meeting, Momade seemed to focus on the DDR and attempted to dodge the issue of district elections, saying that “it’s an issue discussed with the late Renamo President Afonso Dhlakama”, lamenting that he had been blindsided by Frelimo’s posture with regards to the said elections, saying that he still hoped that they would still go on in 2024.
On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved the payment of pensions to former Renamo guerrillas, which has been Momade’s wishes. Momade is likely to milk the moment, as the approval will likely afford him some leeway to fend off elements within Renamo who decry his leadership style or lack thereof.
At this stage, it is anybody’s guess on whether Momade will still fight for the district elections now that his got the pensions for the former guerrillas.
The trouble is that since Momade’s election, Renamo has appeared rudderless and has seemed absent in very critical moments of Mozambique’s political and economic life, which helps to drive the narrative that Momade is Nyusi’s stooge.
Critics point out a video making the rounds on social media of Momade calling Nyusi “our president” as an example of where the former’s allegiances lie – it could just have been a Freudian slip but it made for a terrible look.
Meanwhile, with no visible challenger to Momade, Renamo is just like a party devoid of ideas, which is bad for Mozambique.
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