Mozambican PR says his speech calling for “defence of the homeland” against demonstrations was “manipulated”

The Mozambican President said on Tuesday that his speech on Monday about the need to “defend the homeland” from demonstrations, “even if it means shedding blood”, was taken out of context, considering that the criticism was directed at the violent protests.

“We have situations in which people end up taking words out of the context in which they were spoken, with the aim of manipulating public opinion,” declared Daniel Chapo, at the beginning of the weekly session of the Council of Ministers, which is taking place in Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado.

During a rally in Pemba on Monday, Daniel Chapo called for the “defense of the homeland” against demonstrations, “even if it means spilling blood”.

“Just as we are fighting terrorism and there are young people who are shedding blood for the territorial integrity of Mozambique, for the sovereignty of Mozambique, to maintain our independence, here in Cabo Delgado, even if it means shedding blood to defend this homeland against demonstrations, we will shed blood,” said the Mozambican President.

Today, Chapo said that his statements were directed at “violent demonstrations.”

“We are calling on people to stop violent, illegal and criminal demonstrations. These are the demonstrations we are referring to,” he said.

The speech sparked debate on social media over the past 24 hours, with former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who led post-election protests in Mozambique, criticizing Chapo's statements, calling them unconstitutional.

Mozambique has been experiencing a climate of strong social unrest since October, with demonstrations and strikes called by Mondlane, who rejects the election results of October 9 with the victory of Daniel Chapo in the presidential elections.

Currently, protests, now on a small scale, have been taking place in different parts of the country and, in addition to contesting the results, people are complaining about the rising cost of living and other social problems.

Since October, at least 327 people have died, including around two dozen minors, and around 750 have been shot during the protests, according to the electoral platform Decide, a non-governmental organization that monitors electoral processes.