Tribunal Supremo de Moçambique]
The Mozambican party Anamola stated on Friday that Venancio Mondlane is on trial for crimes he did not commit, and also found it strange that his bank accounts had been unfrozen whilst he remains accused in the case relating to the post-election demonstrations.
This position was set out in Maputo by the acting leader of the National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (Anamola), James Njiji, one day after the Supreme Court’s decision to order banking institutions to unfreeze Venâncio Mondlane’s accounts, on the grounds that the conditions for maintaining the measure no longer existed.
“What is truly strange is how you can accuse a Mozambican individual of inciting terrorism and then have to unfreeze the accounts through which he moves money. Is there no fear that he might continue to finance terrorism?” asked James Njiji.
Speaking on the sidelines of the First Annual Conference on Electoral Democracy, organised by the Decide Electoral Platform, Njiji expressed solidarity with the party’s leader and founder, whose accounts had been frozen since November 2024.
“We are delighted to see our leader’s accounts unfrozen and, as you can imagine, having accounts frozen for two years was no easy matter,” he said.
In November 2024, one month after the general election, the Maputo City Judicial Court ordered the freezing of all of Mondlane’s bank accounts, whilst also requesting information on the respective transactions and bank statements for that year, with particular attention to money received from abroad or transferred out of the country.
At that time, judicial investigations were already underway against the politician, who had organised the post-election protests and never recognised the official results of the general election of 9 October 2024, in which he stood as a candidate for the presidency office.
The decision to unfreeze the accounts comes just over a month before the start of Venâncio Mondlane’s trial, scheduled for 17 November at the Supreme Court.
The criminal proceedings were brought by the public prosecutor’s office (MP) in connection with the post-election demonstrations, with the politician charged with the offences of publicly condoning crime, incitement to collective disobedience, public instigation to commit a crime, instigation to terrorism and incitement to terrorism, carrying a potential sentence of over 20 years’ imprisonment.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s indictment, to which Lusa had access, the evidence against Venâncio Mondlane is based largely on calls for resistance, strikes, work stoppages and mobilisation for protests made via live broadcasts on social media.
On Friday, the acting leader of Anamola said he viewed the trial of the party’s founder with equanimity and «hope for justice», although he believes the latter is being held accountable for acts he did not commit.
“We believe the party leader is being tried for crimes he did not commit, because he did not go to people’s homes to ask them or force them to take to the streets,” stated Njiji, acknowledging that criminal responsibility is individual.
According to him, the party continues to function normally, regardless of its leader’s trial, and also hopes that supporters will follow the proceedings in whatever way they deem appropriate.
“We hope that justice will prevail, and that is what we are striving for,” he concluded.
In September, the Supreme Court rejected the request for the trial to be broadcast live by the media, citing the need to safeguard “the integrity” of the proceedings.
Mondlane never recognised the results of the October 2024 general election, which declared Daniel Chapo, the candidate of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), the winner. The dispute triggered a wave of post-election protests lasting around five months, resulting in hundreds of deaths, as well as incidents of destruction and looting.
Source: Lusa