Mozambique: at least two dozen dead in violent unrest after top court’s election ruling

At least 21 people were killed in violent unrest in Mozambique’s capital Maputo and northern cities a day after the country’s top court Monday (23 December) controversially confirmed the ruling party’s victory in a disputed poll.
Mozambique’s largely deserted capital and other cities across the eastern African nation have been hit by skirmishes between protesters and police, which were triggered by the Constitutional Council’s decision to uphold the victory of the long-ruling Frelimo party’s presidential candidate Daniel Chapo. A total of “236 acts of serious violence were reported” since Monday across the Portuguese-speaking African country, in which at least 25 people were wounded, including 13 police officers, interior minister Pascoal Ronda said late Tuesday (24 December). More than a 130 people have already died in the violence following the 21 October election.
Chapo’s main challenger, exiled opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, has claimed the election was rigged, marred by voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and irregularities in vote counting, and called the court’s decision “the humiliation of the people”. The unrest has led to the arrests of at least 78 people, with the government warning of more detentions as protests continue. “The armed and defense forces will increase their presence in critical and key points,” Ronda said, emphasizing that security measures are being reinforced to restore order. But Mondlane remains defiant, writing on Facebook that “history is made of thorny, rocky moments, but the truth is that victory is guaranteed for all of us.”