Residual mistrust between Mozambique’s major political parties continues to threaten the country’s hard-won democracy, according to political observers. Although the Frelimo government and the rebel movement, Renamo, signed a peace agreement in 1992 after 16 years of war, neither side has totally let its guard down.
Renamo has consistently claimed that the government rigged successive polls, and Frelimo has chided the former rebel group for its apparent refusal to participate fully in the national recovery effort.
The latest salvo came this week, when Renamo accused the government of recruiting ex-soldiers to undermine traditional strongholds. Renamo spokesperson Fernando Mazanga reportedly told Portuguese news agency Lusa that an ex-Renamo fighter had recruited up to 150 ex–guerrillas for a “strategy of destabilisation” in the Sofala province. He called on President Armando Guebuza to intervene .
However, a senior official dismissed Renamo’s claims as “irresponsible” and “without substance. When there is proof, the government will act.”
He said the government had indeed recruited ex-Renamo fighters into the police force. “Renamo has always complained that the government has not done enough to integrate their soldiers, but now that President Guebeza is doing that, they still have a problem,” the Maputo-based source said.
Johane Zonjo of Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo said the ongoing acrimony between Renamo and Frelimo was about “unfinished business”.
“There are those in the party [Renamo] who want to work with the government, and on the other side those who still have a grudge against the government for winning the war.”
Zonjo warned that unless Renamo recommitted itself to connecting with its grassroots support, the party would run the risk of splintering in coming years. “One of the main reasons Renamo managed to command control of several provinces was because the government had, in the past, simply ignored some of these areas. “