Archbishop Inacio Saure of Nampula gave a press conference on 3 September denouncing the illegal occupation of Catholic church land. The land was occupied during the protests early this year. Courts on 16 May and 12 August ordered the squatters to leave, but local government did nothing. Archbishop Saure said: “Officials who were sent there were chased away. This arrogance leads us to believe that there is a powerful and invisible hand" behind the invasions, guaranteeing impunity for the occupiers.
He believes that the land seizure may be retaliation for the bishops speaking out over electoral fraud and other issues. Saure met with Nampula governor Eduardo Mariano Abdula who did nothing. This was probably because Saure had earlier forced Abdula to publicly apologise for the provincial head of the veterans association saying “Frelimo will govern until Jesus Christ returns to Earth.”
Dom Inacio Saure concluded "We have lawyers, we have documents, but the law does not work when it comes up against powerful people." (Jornal Ngani, 8 Sept; Vatican News 4 Sept)
ouncing the illegal occupation of Catholic church land. The land was occupied during the protests early this year. Courts on 16 May and 12 August ordered the squatters to leave, but local government did nothing. Archbishop Saure said: “Officials who were sent there were chased away. This arrogance leads us to believe that there is a powerful and invisible hand" behind the invasions, guaranteeing impunity for the occupiers.
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He believes that the land seizure may be retaliation for the bishops speaking out over electoral fraud and other issues. Saure met with Nampula governor Eduardo Mariano Abdula who did nothing. This was probably because Saure had earlier forced Abdula to publicly apologise for the provincial head of the veterans association saying “Frelimo will govern until Jesus Christ returns to Earth.”
Dom Inacio Saure concluded "We have lawyers, we have documents, but the law does not work when it comes up against powerful people." (Jornal Ngani, 8 Sept; Vatican News 4 Sept)
National Dialogue began today
Mozambique's "Inclusive National Dialogue" was launched this morning, Wednesday 10 September, by President Daniel Chapo. Proposed by Chapo in March in response to the demonstrations, the Dialogue was approved by parliament on 2 April.
The Dialogue reports to Chapo and is controlled by him. Chapo announced the 10 September start in his speech at a rally in Katembe, Maputo city, on 30 August. On 7 May Chapo announced that Edson Macuacua would be head of the commission, and he named the 17 commission members from various political parties, and various other posts. The full list of members and officials is on https://mznews.co.mz/en/edson-macuacua-lidera-a-comissao-tecnica-para-dialogo-nacional-inclusivo/. Macuacua is state secretary of scinece and higher education, and has been used in the past by government as a political fixer.
On Monday,1 September, the commission selected academics Jose Jaime Macuane and Eduardo Chiziane as consultants. Macuane is a political scientist with extensive experience in Public Administration reforms and a professor at Eduardo Mondlane University. In 2016 he was a known public commenter, particular on STV's “Pontos de Vista” programme where he heavily criticised President Nyusi. He was beaten and shot on the morning of 23 May 2016 and dumped in Maputo's Marracuene district. He was treated in the UK and returned to Mozambique. The attackers were never identified. Chiziane heads the Faculty of Law at Eduardo Mondlane and has also been a critic of government.
The dialogue will have ten working groups: constitutional, electoral, fiscal, economic, public administration and depoliticization, natural resources, defence and security, justice, reconciliation and national unity, and decentralization and de-concentration. Each working group will present recommendations. Each group will be composed of ten individuals.
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Macuacua explained that the first stage will be a three-month national and diaspora public consultation, "interacting with civil society, political parties, academia, and all social strata". The second stage will develop proposals to submit to a national public debate. The third phase aims to “build consensus and develop proposals for agreements”, to be transformed “into legislative initiatives” for submission to parliament.
It seems a very formal, long and cumbersome process to try to keep civil society and the opposition talking until it is too late to change laws before the next elections, in 2028 and 2029. Frelimo has a majority in parliament, and President Chapo can veto legislation. In 2023-24 the parties had an extended discussion which led to agreement on electoral law changes which were passed by parliament in 2024, but then President Nyusi vetoed the law at the last minute, and elections were held under the old law.
