Mozambique legal battles intensify over post-election violence

Legal proceedings regarding the 2024 post-election violence in Mozambique are intensifying as new evidence is submitted to the Attorney General's Office (PGR). The NGO platform Decide has delivered over 1,100 digital files, including videos and photographs, to support criminal complaints against former Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda and former police chief Bernardino Rafael. The documentation aims to prove police atrocities, including deaths, torture, and disappearances, during the protests.

Simultaneously, the PGR is building a case against presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane. Prosecutors are utilizing dozens of live broadcasts, intercepted phone calls, and audio recordings to argue that Mondlane’s public appeals had a direct causal link to the waves of violence and national strikes. While the prosecution alleges incitement to collective disobedience, Mondlane’s defense maintains that his statements constitute the legitimate exercise of political rights and civic protest.