Mozambican security forces used ‘reckless and unnecessary force’ to quell poll protests — Amnesty report

On 21 October 2024, regions of Mozambique were gripped by violence as the country’s security forces responded with force to mostly peaceful protesters challenging the result of the 9 October elections. Telecommunications companies restricted access to the internet or shut it down completely for days on end.

The violence continued for three months, resulting in many deaths and injuries, and the arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters, journalists, bystanders and minors.

In its latest report, Amnesty International concluded that Mozambican security forces used reckless and unnecessary force to crack down on the protests, violating the human rights of thousands of Mozambican citizens.

Amnesty, which monitors, documents and reports on human rights issues, launched the report, Protest Under Attack: Human Rights Violations During Mozambique’s Post-2024 Election Crackdown, at a media briefing on Wednesday.

Through eyewitness testimonies and analysing 105 videos and photographs posted on social media, the report documents how security forces fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas at civilians, conducted arbitrary arrests and targeted journalists.

(Source: Amnesty International)

Mozambican presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who called for protests after the elections. (Photo: Luisa Nhantumbo / EPA-EFE)

Khanyo Farise, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for east and southern Africa, said: “The Mozambican security forces’ deadly crackdown was a shameful overreaction to post-election protests.

“Instead of listening to people’s grievances and allowing them to voice their concerns, the Frelimo-led government unleashed a wave of violence on demonstrations, resulting in serious injuries, unlawful deaths and a slew of other human rights violations.”

Read more: ‘Maputo is like a warzone’ — Activists lament global inaction as protest and state suppression deepen in Mozambique

Unlawful use of force

Amnesty determined that officers from the Protection Police (Polícia de Protecção), the Rapid Intervention Unit (Unidade de Intervenção Rápida), the Traffic Police (Polícia de Trânsito) and the military, and unidentified men in plain clothes were deployed to suppress the protests, and did so using lethal weapons.

Videos and images on social media showed security forces armed with assault rifles and handguns, as well as less lethal weapons, including single and multishot 37/38mm launchers used to fire tear gas grenades and rubber bullets at protesters and bystanders.

“Two physicians who treated dozens of people injured during the protests told Amnesty International that they saw patients wounded by bullets, kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) and tear gas. Injuries included bone fractures, internal bleeding, severe organ damage, chest injuries and respiratory problems,” stated the report.

The doctors told the organisation that among those treated were 10 children, the youngest only nine years old. Between 18 and 26 October, there were 73 cases of bullet wounds, 10 of which proved fatal.

A Mozambican civil society organisation, Plataforma Decide, which collected reports via its telephone hotline, found that about 315 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured between 21 October 2024 and 16 January 2025 in relation to the protests.

Amnesty International found that the use of force by the police against peaceful protesters was reckless and unnecessary, rendering it unlawful.

“In those incidents where people lost their lives, it violated the right to life of protesters and bystanders, as well as their right to peaceful assembly. In other incidents, it inflicted bodily harm. It violated the right to peaceful assembly in all incidents,” noted the report.

Internet shutdowns

Access to information, freedom of expression and association, and the right to peaceful assembly — protected under Mozambique’s Constitution — all depend on internet access. However, Amnesty International found that evidence from Internet Outage Detection and Analysis, Cloudflare Radar and the Open Observatory of Network Interference strongly suggested that internet service providers blocked or throttled access to their services at key moments during the protests.

A graphic published by Netblocks shows a steep decrease in internet connectivity in Mozambique on the evenings between 4 and 8 November 2024. (Source: Netblocks)

Several Mozambicans reported receiving messages from telecommunications companies (Movitel, Vodacom Mozambique and Tmcel) stating that access to some social media networks was temporarily restricted for reasons beyond their control.

Amnesty said these restrictions and shutdowns were possibly carried out at the behest of the government. On 31 October, Mozambique’s National Institute of Communications issued a statement expressing concern that telecommunications networks were sharing videos and messages that “promote and encourage violent demonstrations and other acts of disobedience and social destabilisation”.

Two weeks later, Mozambique’s then minister of transport and communication, Mateus Magala, allegedly confirmed to journalists that internet restrictions were in place and claimed they were necessary to prevent the spread of violent messages and videos during the protests.

Read more: Civil society fights back after internet restrictions in Mozambique spark outcry and legal action

Not an isolated clampdown

Professor Adriano Nuvunga, who consistently raised the alarm about human rights violations as they unfolded, congratulated Amnesty International on the report, adding that it echoed the concerns Mozambican civil society organisations had raised since the onset of the crackdown.

Speaking in Portuguese, Nuvunga said: “Even though this shocked the world, this is not an isolated case. It’s part of a cycle of political violations in Mozambique’s post-electoral phase, which has been ongoing since the peace agreement signed in 1992.”

Nuvunga said the Mozambican government had acted with impunity since the end of the civil war in 1992. However, he believed that Mozambicans had reached a point where they must tell the government “enough is enough”.

“We must seek justice. Transitional justice is the way forward and must start with acknowledging the evidence we’ve witnessed and recognising all the victims. The Mozambican state is not taking accountability — it has published a report claiming only eight people were killed,” said Nuvunga.

He added that to hold the government accountable, his organisation had filed several cases with Mozambique’s Attorney-General’s Office.

In February, the Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) announced it had opened 651 criminal and civil cases related to the post-election violence and promised that incidents involving deaths would be thoroughly investigated by the justice system.

However, the organisation expressed concern that many of these cases would stall, thereby undermining efforts to achieve justice and accountability.

In a meeting with Eduardo Mondlane University officials, President Daniel Chapo allegedly agreed to cover the medical costs of injured individuals, offer compensation and psychological support to families of those killed, and pardon those arrested in connection with the protests.

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo. (Photo: Munashe Chokodza / EPA-EFE)

However, Amnesty International noted there was no mention of plans to prosecute suspected perpetrators.

“If President Daniel Chapo’s new government wants to turn the page, it must ensure thorough and transparent investigations into all allegations of human rights violations committed during the crackdown and hold suspected perpetrators accountable.

“While medical care, compensation and pardons are absolutely necessary, accountability also requires that all suspected perpetrators face justice in fair trials following transparent investigations,” said Farise. DM