The Predicament of Mozambique

After gaining independence from Portuguese colonialists in 1975, Mozambique was governed as a one-party state by the Mozambique Liberation Front, widely known as Frelimo. A year later, in what was to become a civil war, Frelimo faced opposition from the anti-communist rebel movement Resistência Nacional Moçambicana, Renamo, or the Mozambican National Resistance, as it was known in the English-speaking world.

The civil war came to an end in the early 1990s, following the collapse of the apartheid regime in South Africa, the insurgency’s main backers. More than two decades later, the country is enjoying a fragile peace.

 What I saw

I entered Mozambique through the Forbes border post between eastern Zimbabwe and the north-western region of Mozambique. On the streets of Chimoio one hears tales about Afonso Dhlakama being a ‘leader, hero and fighter’.

Dhlakama is the leader of Renamo, the former rebel movement set up by the Central Intelligence Organisation, the then Rhodesia’s intelligence agency. At independence, in 1980, Renamo was handed over to apartheid South Africa. The movement was originally led by André Matsangaisse, who was killed by government forces in 1979, paving the way for Dhlakama to become the successor. (In the 1980s, Renamo was known colloquially as Matsanga, after its slain leader.)

Even though the civil war ended in the early 1990s, there have been sporadic clashes. This was the febrile atmosphere I walked into on my recent visit to the country. The latest face-off comes after a series of conflicts between the two parties. Renamo, naturally, is suspicious of the policies of the ruling party, Frelimo, under the leadership of Filipe Nyusi.These clashes have sparked fears of the rekindling of civil war in Mozambique. The clashes are believed to have intensified since the 2014 election, which was won by Frelimo and which Renamo disputed.

Even though the war devastated the northern regions of the country, Dhlakama is still seen here as a hero. One such tale is told by Silvano Tambwe, a local shopkeeper: ‘He (Dhlakama) is a hero, a leader and a fighter. There was a shoot-out between Renamo and the national army months ago. He shot and killed several national soldiers and the remaining ones ran for their lives. After the gunfight he walked all the way from here [the Tete turn-off] into Chimoio, daring the national army to come for him if they had what it took to kill him’, he said with glee in his eyes.

Rosmina Capinga, a vendor in Tete, echoed the same sentiments: ’He once came here and had an impromptu meeting with us [citizens[. When he arrived, he bought a drink and a bread roll from a vendor and ate it as we told him our problems. Other leaders would eat something better or have someone taste the food before eating it. Dhlakama is a man of the people and we love him for that’.

When one spends time in this part of the country, one quickly sees how Dhlakama is the proverbial man of the people and Renamo the people’s party. Other provinces where he is a darling are Sofala, Zambezia, Tete, Nampula and Niassa. These are regions that voted overwhelmingly for Renamo in the last election.

There is a lot of misinformation about what is really going on. In Zimbabwe, most people think the civil war and theclashes are a thing of the past. However, there are reports of Renamo crossing over into Zimbabwe to recruit, taking advantage of ‘unemployed, hungry youths’.

Locals in Manica confirmed that the Renamo militia still had violent clashes with the national army. Some said it was worse where I was going and that on the worst days no bus would be able to make its way to Maputo.

Stories and more stories, I reassured myself; tall tales meant to scare foreigners.

Vendors at the Gorongosa region. Photo: Emerson Gibin

My journey continues

I commuted from Chimoio to Maputo, a journey of some 1200km, in a bus that departs at 3am in the morning. I understand that one bus services the route due to the low number of commuters. As a foreigner with very little Portuguese to get by on, catching the 3am meant sleeping in the bus till its departure time. And so I became the main meal of a strain of Mozambican mosquitos that seemed able to bite though my boots.

I had wanted to stroll around and do a bit of bar-hopping, but I was warned again to stay in the bus till its departure. The corrupt police here are known to confuse people who speak little Portuguese with big Portuguese words in order to squeeze a bribe out of them.

Police man. Central Prison, Maputo, Mozambique. Photo: Dinho Lima

The route to Maputo passes through the Gorongosa region, the former headquarters of Renamo during the insurgency.It is in this area where I became aware of the truth of the stories about ongoing clashes. There is an estimated 50km-longstrip where motorists are escorted by government forces. This is where Renamo militia have bombed cars and buses.By the side of this section of road you can see the shells of cars and buses that had been bombed or burned. It didn’t require any fluency in Portuguese to sense the sudden heavy presence of fear in the bus. On some parts of the road we passed through what was basically national mini military camps.All the passengers were looking attentively outside, ready to take cover at the first sign of an attack.

Clashes still occur in Mozambique, yet they have been under-reported in neighbouring Zimbabwe and South Africa. In fact, the situation has deteriorated so much that an estimated 10 000 citizens have sought refuge in Malawi.

Some critics are of the view that the ruling government is aware that publicising such clashes would affect their economy. Mozambique’s economy, like that of many African countries, strongly relies on foreign investment and news of the clashes would affect investor perception negatively.

When I arrived in Maputo, Nyusi and Dhalakama had exchanged positions in the perception of the people. Dhlakama, who is eulogised in the north, is perceived as a villain. Here it is Nyusi who is the hero.

’That man [Dhlakama] has been nothing but trouble with his army. He is a curse on this country and he is the cause of all the problems this nation is currently facing, from our economy to our political instability to the civilians who have died due to his activities,’ said Pedro Thumbo, a businessman in Maputo.

What I saw

This low-level conflict aside, Mozambique’s infrastructure boom seems to be on course. Excavators are everywhere in Chimoio, Xai Xai and Maputo, along with other towns en route to Maputo. This is unlike neighbouring Zimbabwe, where such a sight is a rare one.

In a bid not to tempt fate once more and to keep myself from harm’s way, I ended up exiting the country at the Lebombo border post on the South Africa-Mozambique border, an estimated two-hour drive from Maputo.