Opposition leader faces charges over protests

Nearly two years after a disputed presidential election, followed by months of protests in Mozambique, opposition politician Venancio Mondlane is preparing to face trial before the country’s Supreme Court. Mondlane was notified by the court on 25 August, that he would stand trial over five charges linked to the protests that followed the October 2024 election, reports Al Jazeera. He is not under arrest and has not yet stood trial. The charges are public advocacy of crime, incitement to collective disobedience, public instigation to a crime, instigation to terrorism and incitement to terrorism. Prosecutors brought the charges in July 2025 over Mondlane’s alleged role in the post-election unrest. He denies the accusations. Salomão Moyana, a veteran Mozambican journalist and political commentator, said: ‘This trial is politically untimely, given the country’s current political situation. But at the same time, it is legally timely for Venancio himself, because it gives him an opportunity to finally put these pending cases behind him.’ Mondlane was an independent presidential candidate backed by the Podemos party in the October 2024 election. He finished second to Daniel Chapo, the candidate of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front.

Meanwhile, Mondlane said in a Facebook post that one of his witnesses was found dead after being kidnapped by so far unknown individuals in Morrumbene district, southern province of Inhambane, reports the Club of Mozambique. The victim in question is Ilídio Facitela Gustavo, a member of the National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (Anamola). According to Mondlane, through a post in his Facebook account, Ilídio Gustavo was ‘curiously, one of my witnesses for the trial scheduled at the Supreme Court. He was kidnapped and murdered’. The trial, which had been scheduled for 6 October, may be postponed following Mondlane’s request, which is currently awaiting review by the Criminal Section of the Supreme Court. In a statement, Anamola demands a full clarification of the circumstances surrounding the assassination, the identification of those responsible, and their subsequent prosecution in accordance with the law.

Full Al Jazeera report

Full Club of Mozambique report