Mozambican security forces mobilised to quell nationwide post-election protests have shot dead at least 10 children and wounded dozens more since October 24, 2024. Police have apprehended hundreds of children, in many cases for days, without informing their families, in breach of international human rights law. The demonstrations and ensuing government crackdown have led to extreme disruptions of education throughout the country.

Human rights organizations noted that at least 73 people have been killed, with many others wounded, in the intensifying post-election brutality in Mozambique. Adriano Nuvunga, executive director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, a leading human rights organization in Mozambique, said that deaths among protesters have become a common occurrence.

“We have been calling on security forces to exercise restraint when dealing with unarmed protesters, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Today, we are talking of 73 people being killed, and we worry that numbers of fatalities will continue to rise unless politicians on both sides of the divide come together to find long-lasting solutions to the current impasse,”

Nuvunga stated.

Post-election uncertainties escalated on October 24 after followers of the independent presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, and the top opposition party, Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (Partido Optimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique, Podemos), declined the official declaration that the ruling party and its nominees were the victors of the October 9 election. Mondlane had declared victory the day after the polls closed.

The ensuing demonstrations called for by the opposition started largely peacefully. However, government security forces employed live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas to scatter the crowds. Protesters reacted by burning tyres, blocking roads, and hurling rocks and other things at the police. On October 29, Mondlane called for a weeklong nationwide shutdown, topping in a major rally in Maputo, the capital, on November 7. In reply, Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda blamed Mondlane for causing terror and advised people not to join the protests because it could “end up deteriorating into acts of vandalism and violence.”

Human Rights Watch reported nine cases of children killed and at least 36 other children wounded by gunfire during the demonstrations. The media noted further violations of children’s rights by the security authorities and some protesters, including vandalizing schools, torching classrooms, and threatening children’s lives. The unrest that broke out in Mozambique after the nation’s argued elections in October has led to the partial shutting of the Lebombo border post. The move disrupts a strong trade passage between the southern African country and its neighbour, South Africa.