By Ollus Ndomu
Gunmen fatally shot an opposition lawyer and party official in Mozambique, rights groups and opposition leaders said, raising tensions as the country grapples with protests over contested election results.
The lawyer, affiliated with the new opposition party Podemos, was killed after multiple shots were fired at the vehicle he was traveling in, according to reports from local activists.
The killing has worsened an already volatile situation following the release of provisional election results that show the long-ruling Frelimo party—in power for half a century—on course for victory. The party’s candidate, Daniel Chapo, appears poised to secure the presidency, but Venancio Mondlane, the presidential candidate for Podemos, has contested the results, alleging fraud and irregularities in the electoral process.
Podemos, riding a wave of growing dissatisfaction with Frelimo’s decades-long dominance, has responded to the results by calling for a nationwide strike to pressure the government for transparency. The death of the opposition lawyer, viewed by the party as an attack on its leadership, has further fueled the opposition’s claims of political intimidation and deepened public anger.
Protests have broken out in several regions, with civil society groups and opposition supporters demanding justice and a recount. Meanwhile, the government has urged calm, dismissing the protests as baseless provocations intended to destabilize the country.
The situation places Mozambique on a knife’s edge, with the coming days likely to determine whether the political standoff escalates into wider unrest. Both international observers and local rights groups are closely monitoring developments, urging dialogue to avoid a further descent into violence.
