Mozambique’s Post-Election Killings: A Tragic Reminder of Southern Africa’s Democratic Crisis

What is unfolding in Mozambique today is nothing short of a human rights crisis. Since the contested general elections of October 2024, a dark cloud has descended on the country, marked by political assassinations, violent repression, and a chilling silence from the state. Over ten opposition figures have been murdered by unidentified gunmen—many in broad daylight, some in front of their homes, and others ambushed on the streets. These killings have one common thread: all the victims were part of or associated with the opposition Podemos party or supported the independent presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane.

This is not an isolated case of electoral violence—it is systematic political extermination.

Human Rights Watch has documented these crimes in painful detail: from the execution-style killing of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe in Maputo to the gruesome murder of Ivo Armando Nhantumbo and João de Deus Nhachengo, whose bodies were found mutilated in Inhambane Province. These are not the casualties of war or random crime. They are the deliberate targets of a state machinery that has grown increasingly intolerant of dissent.

The failure of Mozambican authorities to investigate these assassinations is a crime in itself. Police announcements about ongoing investigations have yielded no arrests, no charges, and no public updates. Families of the victims are left in the dark, while communities live in fear. It is clear that the silence from the state is not a sign of ignorance—it is a signal of complicity.

The Mozambican elections were marred by more than just ballot irregularities. They were drenched in blood. Security forces responded to nationwide demonstrations with brutal force, killing over 300 people and injuring hundreds more. Protesters—many of them unarmed—were gunned down, beaten, or disappeared. Podemos reported that over 100 of its members have been murdered since the election. These figures are not just statistics; they represent shattered families, stolen futures, and a democracy slipping deeper into the abyss.

This is the face of political intolerance that has taken root in parts of Southern Africa. The pattern is familiar: governments deploy security forces to suppress protests, use the legal system to harass opposition, and turn intelligence services into tools of intimidation. What is happening in Mozambique is tragically similar to what we have seen elsewhere in the region—repression masquerading as governance.

In my own country, we have witnessed how governments entrench their power by criminalizing activism and punishing those who demand reform. When MPs, students, or journalists speak out, they are labeled terrorists, spies, or enemies of the state. The parallels between the repression in Mozambique and other states in our region are unmistakable. The same fear, the same silence, the same impunity.

But the world must understand: this is not just a Mozambican issue. It is a Southern African crisis.

We cannot afford to watch Mozambique spiral into a state where bullets decide politics and fear replaces the ballot. The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, and international partners must stop issuing hollow statements and start demanding accountability. Mozambique is a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights—it has an obligation to uphold the rule of law, not violate it with impunity.

The people of Mozambique deserve to live without fear. They deserve to organize, protest, and vote without risking their lives. The families of those killed deserve truth and justice. And those responsible—whether in uniform or in suits—must be held accountable.

Regional solidarity is not a slogan; it is a responsibility. If we allow political killings in Mozambique to go unanswered, we are giving a green light to every regime that believes power should be protected with bullets, not ballots. The price of silence is too high.

Mozambique is bleeding. And it is not just its people who must rise—the entire region must stand up, speak out, and demand justice. The era of state-sponsored terror must end. The future of democracy in Southern Africa depends on it.