I am not a sensationalist, or at least I try not to be one. This is why I have been quiet about the recent goings-on in our home country. Yet I now feel strongly led to reach out to all of those who have supported us and share what is happening and to ask for your prayers. What is happening in Mozambique is a result of hundreds of years of oppression.
But first…a short history lesson. Mozambique acquired their independence on June 25, 1975 after a long 10 year war between the guerilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and Portugal. Since 1975, Frelimo has remained in full control of the government. Only two years after gaining independence, a civil war erupted between Mozambique’s ruling Marxist Frelimo and the anti-communist insurgent forces of the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo). Out of a then population of 13-15 million citizens, one million Mozambicans lost their lives and 5.7 million people were displaced internally resulting in 1.7 million refugees. This 15 year war lasted from 1977 to 1992, ending with the Rome General Peace Accords. A UN peacekeeping force oversaw a two-year transition to democracy, but tensions have remained high between these two political parties in the subsequent years with occasional flare ups.
Mozambique has a two-party democratic system. Like the US political system, this means there are two dominant political parties making it difficult for another third party to achieve electoral success. Frelimo and Renamo remain the two dominant parties along with a list of 17 other parties, the largest one being Democratic Movement of Mozambique (DMD), and a new one that was added in this year, Podemos.
Frelimo has maintained full control at the executive, legislative, and judicial levels since 1975. Elections are hotly contested and considered fraudulent. International watch groups enter the country at each election to observe and report yet have not been heard, nor have their reports changed anything.
Our most recent election was held on October 9, 2024. When it is Voting Day, we hunker and watch from home. The citizens of the country go out to vote and return to their homes as well. All businesses, stores, and schools are closed. Paper ballots printed with the presidential candidates’ names listed beside their photos because much of the population is illiterate. Voters mark the box by their chosen candidate and place their ballot into a large plastic box. Each voter then dips their right pointer finger in ink that will last for several days so as to prevent repeat voting. At 8:00 pm, the polls close and the counting begins. Each ballot is pulled from the box and held for all to see as the marked off name is read aloud. A worker records the vote by placing a tally mark on the chalkboard beside the corresponding candidate’s name while another worker holds the ballot for everyone to verify. The process is slow, tedious, and open to foul play. The results are not announced for about two weeks.
The day following the elections, everything opens again but many choose to stay home for a few days to make sure that it is safe. This past election was an important one because a new president would be chosen. Each president can serve two 5-year terms, and it was time for the current president, Nyusi, to go.
Frelimo has always “won” every election and was expected to “win” again this year with their candidate Daniel Chapo. Yet the introduction of a new and very popular party named Podemos (meaning “We can”), whose candidate was Venancio Mondlane, created the first-ever likely challenge to the status quo.
Before the votes were even fully counted, both Frelimo and Podemos were declaring victory. In usual fashion, the Frelimo party barreled ahead with their declared victory, but Podemos was not about to back down. Their party leader, Mondlane, called for a nationwide strike on Monday, October 21 to contest the fraudulent election. Businesses were warned that if they opened on that day, they would be susceptible to attack. All businesses, stores, and schools were closed. Everyone was to stay home. The population was called upon to peacefully protest. The conflict was only exacerbated when the Saturday before the Monday strike, the lawyer and photographer for the Podemos party were assassinated with 25 bullets as they were driving. They carried evidence to present that would prove the elections were faulty and the Podemos party had won.
On Monday the 21st, protestors’ attempts were met with police who fired upon them with live ammunition and threw tear gas to displace the crowds. The protestors were not carrying weapons of any kind, not even a stick.
The election results were to be announced on Thursday, October 24. Mondlane called for a two-day strike for this day and the following day to denounce the results. The National Electoral Commission (Comissao Nacional de Eleicoes, CNE) declared on October 24th that the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) party won the country's October 9th general elections. The Frelimo candidate, Daniel Chapo, reportedly won the presidential race with more than 70 percent of the vote, and Frelimo secured 195 of the country's 250 parliamentary seats. This announcement led to more protests and violence.
On October 24, thousands of opposition supporters marched in the capital city of Maputo and its surrounding suburbs. Across the country, protestors burned tires and blocked roads. Riot police deployed with dogs and armored vehicles fired live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse the crowds. Some protestors then responded by throwing rocks. There were many casualties, even more injuries, and over 400 people arrested. Videos poured in on Facebook and Whatsapp from all around the country of protests, both peaceful and violent. Eventually, everyone's ability to communicate or post on social media was stopped when the country’s cell service was shut down, cutting everyone off from each other. This was an attempt to keep groups from organizing protests and people from sharing what was happening. It worked. (The following day, the mobile service providers gave us all 2MB of data for free to make up for it.)
This past weekend, we were given a weekend of peace and warned to prepare for the week ahead. The opposition party leader, Mondlane, stated he would address the nation on a live Facebook feed as to what would happen next on Monday evening. Thus began a race to the stores on the weekend to stock up. Store shelves were emptied and gas stations ran out of fuel.
On Monday, we all tuned in to Facebook and waited for Mondlane to come on live. It was to be at 6:30 pm. We waited, and in typical African fashion, he did not appear. TIA. Africans are notoriously late for everything, so none of us raised an eyebrow at the delay. The minutes ticked by and…nothing. Finally, at 7:00, he sent out a message to say that there were technical difficulties and so he would make an announcement on Tuesday at 6:30. We spent another day holding our breath. On Tuesday at 6:30 he was on live. He announced a 7-day nationwide strike that would start on Thursday and continue until Thursday, November 7th to protest the election results. All businesses, stores, and schools were to stay closed. Everyone was to stay off the roads or face the consequences.
Here is a short summary of Venancio Mondlanes live …
**General Strike and Public Demonstration**
Starting Thursday, October 31, a *General Strike and Demonstration* will commence. Organizations and citizens from various provinces will unite with the following objectives and guidelines:
1. **Until Wednesday, all activities will proceed as usual.**
2. **Beginning on Thursday** The strike will be organized into two groups of demonstrators:
- **Group 1:** Will gather at the district offices of the National Election Commission (CNE) and the Frelimo Party. Employees of the CNE and Frelimo are advised not to report to work.
- **Group 2:** Will take to the streets for public demonstrations.
3. **National Shutdown** The strike will last one week, from Thursday, October 31, to Thursday, November 7, with a nationwide halt in activities.
4. **Mass Mobilization** By November 7, it is anticipated that four million demonstrators from all provinces will gather in Maputo. The goal is to establish a significant presence in the capital to strengthen the movement.
5. **Support from Security Forces** An appeal is being made for members of the Mozambique Police (PRM), SISE, and the Mozambique Defense Armed Forces (FADM) to join the population on November 7.
6. **Suspension of Tax Payments** Starting Thursday, citizens are asked to suspend all tax payments to the State as a form of resistance.
-Venâncio Mondlane -
The following day, Wednesday, all of the non-Frelimo political parties banded together to fight against the election results. In the past, it has always been Renamo crying foul, but now it is all of them together. Also on Wednesday, the current president of the country, Nyusi, announced that the government was done trying to negotiate with Mondlane and the Podemos party. A text message was sent out nationwide to remind everyone that vandalizing and sabotaging any property, public or private, obstruction of any roads, and any acts that would interfere negatively with the public peace would be treated as criminal offenses.
On Wednesday, William and I took Don to the airport to fly out to Johannesburg, South Africa so that he can continue on to China on Saturday to attend a food show that is critical for our company’s success. The roads were packed with people trying to get home from work or to get anything that remained on the store shelves. You could sense the desperation in the air. The already tight two-lane road we travelled had somehow turned into a five-lane road with three lanes going our way and two-lanes of traffic coming at us. As we drove through the market area, I was heartbroken to see so many people sitting on the ground with their display of used shoes, clothing, sheets, and towels for sale. No one was shopping for such items on that day. Yet still, these people came out, hoping for even just one sale that would allow them money to buy food to eat that day. This is the desperation we witness every day.
The police presence was strong, and men like these were scattered about, clearly making the statement that the government was not going to play around.
Yesterday was Day 1 of the strike. Businesses, stores, and schools were closed. Most people stayed home so as not to risk getting caught in a demonstration. The usual bustling city of Maputo and its surrounding suburbs were described as ghost towns. Again, mobile phone service and access to social media sites was cut. It all came back on in the evening when the videos and reports from the day were spread. There were protests and clashes between citizens and police. There were burning tires, gun shots, and Frelimo party headquarters being vandalized. But there was not nearly as much as had been anticipated. I have no doubt this was God answering our prayers.
William and I are in a very safe, gated community with guards at the entrance and our trusty dogs (Lupe, Ruthie, Eoka, and Nhlete) patrolling our yards. We have Starlink which enables us to have uninterrupted internet access. Our factory is closed to protect our employees from having to face any unnecessary risks. Our Sunshine families are at home, stocked up, and prepared to wait it all out. We all understand that we are only as safe as we can be in God’s will. But I still am asking for you to pray for our safety and for the safety of all those who live here.
Already many innocent bystanders, even children and families who were in their homes, have been injured by stray bullets and tear gas. Peaceful protestors have been mowed down by police firing at them and chasing them as they ran for cover…all while a crowd of Frelimo members cheered.
Upon the day of the first strike last week, Don sent the following communication to his staff. It really sums up well why we are here.
“Watching the events unfold on the television makes me realize the success of our work is so needed for this country. People are angry and fed up because there is no change happening over the years. People have been becoming poorer here in the last few years. It breaks my heart. We have the solution to shift momentum to positive change. While what we are doing is small compared to the population and their needs. It is meant to transition efforts from plantation farming to small scale farmers thereby changing them into entrepreneurs and becoming self-sufficient with our support and a market to sell without being exploited. Daniel Chapo knows our model and really appreciates its potential. Let’s pray that the new government gets serious about combatting poverty and turns to solutions like the Sunshine Villages Project to truly make change.
In September 2010 before deciding to come to Mozambique, I flew into Maputo airport during the riots happening because of increases for bread and fuel. The whole city was shut down – burning tires everywhere. I was told to stay in Johannesburg because nobody could travel the streets. I flew anyway. I walked by many who were injured at the airport while trying to get here. President Chissano’s private security picked me up at the airport to “rescue me” according to the former foreign minister. President Chissano had to personally call the Indie Hotel in Sommershield to get me a room. I had people visit me there saying why would you come here knowing it was the riots. I responded 'I’m not deterred by these actions because we have a solution which will solve the reason for the riots. The solution is jobs…jobs that don’t exploit the workers and keep them in poverty.' We are working to make that happen. Let’s be encouraged to fight hard to be certain our work succeeds for the benefit of the country and wherever smallholder farmers around the world are struggling.”
We know that we know that we know why we are here. God called us here to live and stand and make a difference in the lives of people for whom He has a deep love and affection. He has given us this same love and affection. We will continue to fight for the abundant life they deserve. Please pray for a peaceful resolution to what is being faced. The people of this country want to live peaceful lives. Yet they are tired of living under oppression and in poverty. Only time will tell how this all plays out over the days and weeks ahead. God’s got it all! As we know, none of this takes Him by surprise. He has a plan. And that is my prayer request…that God’s will shall be done here on earth as in heaven.
Amen.
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