Former guerrilla fighters from Mozambique’s opposition Renamo Party on Monday accused the party leader, Ossufo Momade, of resorting to delaying tactics to destabilise the party, vowing to keep up the pressure to ensure that the congress, scheduled for the second half of 2027, goes ahead.
“We are keeping a close watch and will not stop pressing for the congress to be held as soon as possible,” said Edgar Silva, national coordinator of the self-proclaimed management committee of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), at a press conference in Maputo.
The statements follow the third session of Renamo’s National Council, held on 22 and 23 October, which scheduled the party’s next congress for the second half of 2027. The congress is intended, among other matters, to elect the new leadership, a position for which Ossufo Momade has previously said he did not intend to stand.
According to Edgar Silva, the event was scheduled as a result of pressure exerted by former guerrillas and other dissenting sectors of the organisation.
The group considers that the absence of a date and venue for the congress could represent an attempt to prolong the president’s tenure at the head of the party.
“We fear that this may be yet another hypocritical attitude on the part of the party president. The gentleman has repeatedly got us used to signalling right and turning left. This is borne out by the fact that the announcement of the congress has no day, month or venue,” he said.
At the close of the National Council, Momade argued that the date and venue of the congress should be considered later by the party’s bodies, also acknowledging that its organisation would depend on the availability of financial resources.
For this group, that position reinforces doubts about whether the congress will actually take place.
“Putting off the National Council until next year, depending on funds, leads us to conclude that Ossufo Momade and his associates may be devising yet another delaying tactic to further destabilise the party,” Edgar said.
“If they do not tell us when this congress will take place, there will be no peace in this party. We will continue our struggle. We are a pressure group and we will know how to apply pressure,” he added.
The group also criticised the expulsion of veteran leader António Muchanga, decided by the National Council as part of disciplinary proceedings over alleged violations of Renamo’s statutes.
The group described the former MP as an “inescapable figure” in Mozambican politics, expressing dissatisfaction with the way the proceedings had been conducted.
“We are concerned that the party president is the main promoter of division and intimidation within the party. With this attitude, it has been proven that Mr Ossufo Momade intends to fragment and destroy the party,” it said.
Following his expulsion, Muchanga announced that he intended to challenge the decision in court, arguing that it violated Mozambican law, and pledged to continue contesting Momade’s leadership.
At the close of the National Council, the Renamo leader described the expulsion as a “difficult and painful” decision, but one that was necessary to protect the party. He defended the decision, saying it had been taken by the organisation’s supreme body between congresses.
Holding an extraordinary congress to elect a new leadership has been one of the main demands of the sectors challenging Renamo’s current leadership.
For several months, former guerrillas and veteran party leaders, including António Muchanga, have been demanding Ossufo Momade’s resignation, accusing him of mismanaging the party, failing to pay pensions and allowances, and being unable to respond to the internal crisis.
Ossufo Momade, the presidential candidate backed by Renamo in the 2024 general elections, obtained 6% of the vote, the worst-ever result for a candidate supported by the party, which also lost its status as Mozambique’s main opposition force.
Source: Lusa