Mozambique opposition leader to face trial over post-election protests

Mozambique’s Supreme Court is preparing to try opposition politician Venancio Mondlane over five charges linked to protests that followed the disputed October 2024 presidential election. Mondlane was notified on 25 August that he would stand trial, but no start date has been announced.

The charges are public advocacy of crime, incitement to collective disobedience, public instigation to a crime, instigation to terrorism and incitement to terrorism. Prosecutors filed them in July 2025, alleging that Mondlane helped encourage unrest through calls for protests and messages on social media.

Mondlane denies the allegations. He is not under arrest and has not yet stood trial. His Council of State immunity was suspended in a deliberation dated 10 June 2026, allowing the Supreme Court proceedings to continue. Mondlane has challenged the council’s legal authority to suspend that immunity.

Mondlane finished second to Daniel Chapo in the October 2024 election and rejected the result. Months of protests followed, with Reuters reporting that more than 300 people were killed. Mondlane returned from self-imposed exile in January 2025 and later met Chapo twice, but the meetings did not resolve the political dispute.

The case could affect Mondlane’s political future, including his potential eligibility to contest the 2029 presidential election. However, no court has determined that outcome, and the trial’s eventual result remains unknown.