Renamo. Former guerrillas close delegation in protest

Former guerrillas of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) closed their headquarters in Maputo province on Monday, guaranteeing that others will be closed, accusing Oussfo Momade's leadership of betraying the party's ideals and demanding a National Council.

"As of today, the 21st, we can close all national headquarters ," Samuel Faustino, representative of the group of ex-combatants, told reporters during a rally in front of Renamo headquarters in Matola, Maputo province.

He added that the party's headquarters in the provinces of Manica, Tete, Cabo Delgado, Inhambane and Zambézia remain closed , in protest against the leadership of Ossufo Momade, lamenting the lack of responses from the party leadership: "there was nothing, no statement."

On July 14, former Renamo guerrillas announced that they intended to “definitively” close delegations across the country, as an expanded National Council had not yet been convened, following weeks of silence from the party leadership.

The ex-combatants assure that the closure of the headquarters is taking place peacefully, without invasions, only placing “new padlocks” to prevent operation .

"There's no possibility of invading [the headquarters] because they [the leaders] aren't there. We're just going to show that we came here," added the spokesperson for this group, of about 15 men.

The group criticizes the president of Renamo, accusing him of being “linked to the Frelimo government,” the ruling party, and of having betrayed the party's ideals.

"He's been sinking the party since 2018. We're not bandits, we're resistant ," declared Samuel Fautino, visibly outraged.

"What we want here is an expanded National Council, nothing more," he concluded, emphasizing that this group will continue with the movement until there is a concrete response from the leadership.

Renamo had announced the holding of its first National Council in 2025—a statutory requirement for two per year—on March 7th and 8th, but this was later postponed, with no new date set. The party leadership has already acknowledged the obligation to hold two national councils per year, but states that it is not mandatory for them to take place in different semesters.

Like delegations and headquarters across the country, in recent weeks, the national headquarters and Momade's office were closed and occupied by protesting former guerrillas, between May 15 and 28, until they were removed with gunfire and tear gas by the Rapid Intervention Unit, with more than 50 demobilized soldiers being taken away by the Mozambican police.

Former Renamo guerrillas previously appealed to the government and the police not to interfere in the party's internal affairs, warning that any interference could lead to undesirable actions.

The target of criticism from former guerrillas, Ossufo Momade assumed the presidency of Renamo in January 2019, after the death of Afonso Dhlakama (1953 — 2018), and was re-elected to the position in May 2024, in a process that was strongly contested internally.

The crisis currently being experienced within Renamo is being led by former guerrillas who are demanding the resignation of Ossufo Momade for alleged “mismanagement,” failure to pay pensions and benefits, and the lack of a fund for the political formation's operations.

Renamo lost its status as the second most voted political force in the general elections of October 9, 2024, going from 60 deputies in the 2019 legislative elections to 28.

Momade was a presidential candidate in the October 2024 elections, obtaining 6% of the vote , the worst result for a candidate supported by the party, which was the main opposition force in Mozambique since the first elections in 1994.

For 16 years, Mozambique experienced a civil war, which pitted the government army against Renamo, ending with the signing of the General Peace Agreement in Rome in 1992 between the then President, Joaquim Chissano, and Afonso Dhlakama, historic leader of Renamo, thus paving the way for the first elections two years later.