Catholic leader says Mozambique descending ‘inexorably into chaos’

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Tensions have escalated in Mozambique as protests against the ruling Frelimo party intensify. Having governed for over five decades, the party is set to extend its rule after its candidate, Daniel Chapo, was declared the winner of the October 9 presidential election.

The opposition and various observers have disputed the results, with many believing that independent candidate Venancio Mondlane was the true victor. In response, Mondlane has called for nationwide protests. The police have reacted with tear gas and bullets, resulting in reports of at least 30 fatalities.

Johan Viljoen, Director of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), an entity of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), has told Crux that Mozambique has descended into chaos.

“The government has said that they would not negotiate with the opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane who according to the first tallies from the polling stations had 58 percent of the vote who really won the election,” Viljoen said.

“We’ve seen many people being shot dead by police. It’s already chaos. So it’s getting worse, people are getting recalcitrant. We’ve seen wide-scale destruction of property and violence.” he explained.

On November 7, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the capital Maputo chanting “Frelimo must fall.”

In a November 6 release, the Denis Hurley Peace Institute said what started as a demand for electoral justice has evolved into something far deeper.

“This movement is a cry against the erosion of life’s basic dignity, the plague of corruption and the growth of criminal networks that have turned Mozambique into a drug-trafficking crossroads, enriching an elite tied to the ruling party, Frelimo,” the release states.

“These protesters—young, determined, and undeterred—are asking for the right to build a life with opportunity, to find work, to imagine a future. They are standing against the exploitation of Mozambique’s natural wealth, which benefits a small, privileged circle while leaving the majority in poverty,” it continues.

The statement criticized the government’s response, saying that the authorities had “muted” the voices of the protesters by shutting down the internet.

“The shutdown is more than just a barrier to communication; it is a form of digital apartheid, disproportionately affecting impoverished, marginalized communities where resistance to the Frelim regime is strongest,” the statement says.

“On the ground, the scene is one of relentless repression. Security forces have responded to protests with a level of violence that betrays intent not to protect, but to intimidate. Unarmed demonstrators—many of them young, some even children—face rubber bullets, tear gas, and, in extreme cases, live ammunition,” the statement adds.

During his Angelus prayer on Sunday, November 10, Pope Francis urged dialogue as a way out of the impasse.

“The news from Mozambique is worrying. I invite everyone to engage in dialogue, tolerance and the tireless search for just solutions,” the pontiff said.

“Let us pray for the entire Mozambican population, that the present situation does not cause them to lose faith in the path of democracy, justice and peace,” he added.

Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops in South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini have urged election authorities in the Southern African nation to address the “causes of disgruntlement. “

“We join you [the Bishops of Mozambique] in calling on the authorities to address the causes of disgruntlement about these elections and to respect the will of the Mozambican people,” said the bishops in a letter signed by the president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka, and addressed to the Catholic Bishops of Mozambique.

The bishops in their November 8 letter said they regret the decision of the South African government “to endorse the elections despite such widespread complaints.”

Thursday’s protests were the biggest that Frelimo had seen since 1975. Catholic bishops in Mozambique had rejected the results of the election, calling it “a lie.”

Even before Thursday’s mass protests, the bishops had already urged “all those directly involved in the electoral process and in the resultant conflict to acknowledge guilt, offer forgiveness and embrace the courage of truth.”

“This is the path that will return the normalization of a country that wants to be alive and active and not silenced by fear of violence,” said the Mozambican Bishops in the October 22 statement.

Members of the Southern African Bishops’ Conference have expressed the desire to pay a solidarity visit to their Mozambican peers.

As a way out of the crisis, they have suggested the creation of “spaces for collaboration in governance and consider a possible government of national unity; involve competent and serious institutions in the country in the management of electoral processes, present and future; and give Mozambique a future of hope.”

“Mozambique deserves truth, peace, tranquility, and tolerance,” they stated.