Mozambique’s opposition leader Venancio Mondlane said he would accept the current president’s (Filipe Nyusi) offer to talk after deadly post elections unrest, on the condition that the meeting be held virtually and that legal proceedings against him are dropped. The president (Filipe Nyusi) invited Venancio Mondlane to his office after the killing of dozens of people.
Who is Venancio Mondlane?
Venancio Antonio Bila Mondlane is a former presidential candidate (under PODEMOS) and former member of RENAMO. He is a politician and engineer. Prior to his presidential run, he had served as a member of the municipal council of Maputo (capital and the largest city of Mozambique) from 2014 to 2015, where he also served under the head of the MDM (Daviz simango) in maputo municipal council from 2014 to 2015. He resigned from this position in 2015.
He then attempted to run for municipal council in 2018, but his campaign was successfully annulled by the National Election Commission (CNE). He ran for mayor of Maputo as a member of the MDM and later again in the 2023 elections as a member of RENAMO. He again served as a councilman in Maputo briefly in 2024. His 2023 mayoral run yielded him a seat, but his mandate was revoked. In the aftermath of the 2024 elections, which have been criticized by Mondlane himself and other international figures for its irregularities and alterations, Mondlane became a major opposition figure against FRELIMO and became a popular figure amongst Maputo’s youth.
The results of the elections have caused Mandlane to call for multiple marches and protests against the FRELIMO-led government. The protests, which have included some riots, have been met with violence by state forces, leading to the death of 11 protesters according to human rights watch.
As of November 2024 Mondlane was thought by the authorities of Mozambique to be in hiding, this was later confirmed by Mondlane, with him later mentioning that he had left Africa entirely.