Mozambican politician Venâncio Mondlane has reported the killing of another senior member of his party, Anamola, who was shot dead in Zambézia province, in the centre of the country, bringing the death toll to almost 60 in one year.
According to Venâncio Mondlane, senior Anamola official Araújo Tendence, in the district of Mopeia, was “shot dead”, while Cândido António, a party official in the district of KaTembe, in Maputo, in the south, was “kidnapped and brutally tortured”.
A party source in Zambézia explained on Sunday that the killing of the Anamola mobiliser in Campo administrative post took place at his home early on Friday evening. “He was shot dead, and we have evidence in our possession to prove it,” the party said.
The National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (Anamola), founded by Venâncio Mondlane, reported last September, following another crime, that at least 57 of its members had been killed since the party was established in August 2025, calling for the cases to be investigated.
“The Anamola party has been compiling and counting cases involving members and structures that have been victims of fatal violence, with the number of cases recorded by the party currently reaching 57,” the party’s spokesperson, Alberto Manhique, said at a press conference in Maputo at the time.
The party reported that the number of its members killed had risen to 57 following the death of party official Ilídio Facitela Gustavo in Inhambane. This was in addition to 436 other cases of “extreme violence” against the party. In May, Venâncio Mondlane submitted a complaint to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic (PGR), alleging political persecution.
At the time, following another case of what Anamola described as a “brutal murder”, the party called for an investigation into the reported cases, stating that Ilídio Facitela Gustavo was one of the witnesses in ongoing proceedings against Venâncio Mondlane relating to the post-election demonstrations. Mondlane is due to stand trial before Mozambique’s Supreme Court in November.
The politician called for protests following the general elections of 9 October 2024, in which he was a candidate for the presidency, and refused to recognise the official results.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the start of Venâncio Mondlane’s trial for 17 November.
The criminal case was brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) in connection with the post-election demonstrations. The politician is accused of the crimes of public apology for crime, incitement to collective disobedience, public incitement to commit a crime, incitement to terrorism and incitement to acts of terrorism. The potential prison sentence could exceed 20 years of effective imprisonment.
According to the prosecution order, which Lusa has seen, the evidence against Venâncio Mondlane is based largely on calls to challenge the results, strikes, shutdowns and mobilisation for protests made through live broadcasts on social media.
In September, the Supreme Court rejected a request for media organisations to broadcast the trial live, citing the need to safeguard the “fairness” of the proceedings.
Mondlane has never recognised the results of the October 2024 general elections, which declared Daniel Chapo, candidate of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), the winner. The challenge to the results 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