Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi finally broke up his silence and joined a chorus of dignitaries and institutions condemning the gunning down on Saturday by unknown assailants of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, top aides for the opposition party, PODEMOS (Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique).
Nyusi was speaking after visiting the sole survivor of the shooting that resulted in the deaths of Dias and Guambe.
Dias served as the lawyer for independent presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane and for PODEMOS, the leading extra-parliamentary party backing Mondlane’s presidential campaign.
Using his social media platforms five days after the tragic events and on the day of the burial of Días, Nyusi said that the state “will do everything to clarify the reasons for these heinous deaths and hold those responsible accountable.”
Formers Mozambican presidents Joaquim Chissano and Armando Guebuza, the First Lady Isaura Nyusi, the ruling Frelimo party and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, social activist Graça Machel, international observer missions, embassies of Western powers, and human rights organisations had already issued strong statements calling for a thorough investigation over the murders which shook the country.
Comment
That Nyusi issued a condemnatory statement is quite a surprise. In the past, he has not shown an inclination to act as Consoler-in-Chief. However, he has been quick to issue statements cheering the feats of Mozambicans in sports, and in one instance, he sent a message to player playing abroad who had suffered a serious leg injury.
So, the question in most people’s minds is what might have prompted him to eventually make some sort of statement, addressing the killings of the two top aids.
One theory is that Nyusi might have been pressured by a group within Frelimo to address the nation, especially after the barbaric police crackdown of youths who took to the streets to protest the killings and also to challenge the 9 October general elections, which have been considered as fraudulent by various observer missions, ostensibly the European Union observer mission which says that it “noted irregularities during counting and unjustified of election results at the polling station and district level”.
The images of riot units firing tear gas directly at protesters and journalists which went round the world might not have helped, although Nyusi has doubled down in saying that the protest was illegal, prompting Frelimo old guard to force him to issue a statement.
Furthermore, their argument might have been that the images of police firing tear gas at protesters has further damaged the party’s already tarnished brand, which does not help Daniel Chapo, Frelimo’s candidate and the likely victor of the election, as he prepares to take power in January 2025. Chapo might be aware that he needs to steer the party away from autocracy and make amends with the youth, who two weeks ago booed him at a football match.
Another theory is that the major investors might have shown their displeasure at the way he has handled the electoral crisis, especially because Mondlane has called for a two-day general strike effective from Thursday right in the heels of another general strike on Monday, which has put a dent to Mozambique’s sputtering economy.
Two more days of strikes are likely to do further damage to the economy. Meanwhile, Mozambicans faced traffic jams and crammed supermarket aisles on Wednesday, as they stocked foodstuff in preparation of the nationwide strike.
But observers who have been observing him for quite a while argue that he simply does not care what anyone thinks he should handle the crisis. He has never cared, and he will not start caring now that he is less than three months away from bidding farewell to Mozambicans, they argue, adding that it does not help that one of his great friends is Rwandan leader Paul Kagame, who is known to deal with dissenters harshly – indeed, they warn that Mondlane, who is currently hiding in an undisclosed location, might be in real danger of his life.
What ends would the killing of Mondlane achieve days after the assassination of his lawyer? This is a question that has no reasonable answer apart from the fact that he has been a thorn in the side of the regime.
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