Mozambique wants to punish the opposition leader for the disturbances that followed the election

Venancio Mondlane, the country’s chief opposition leader, is being targeted by Mozambique for civil violence that followed a contentious election last year, according to a document that prosecutors gave to Mondlane.

Prosecutors called Mondlane on Tuesday, claiming that Vote-rigging helped long-ruling Frelimo party President Daniel Chapo win the election. He was presented the 40-page dossier that contained a number of charges against him, one of which was that he had sparked the disturbance.

According to a document that Mondlane’s counsel gave to Reuters on Wednesday, the opposition leader refuted every allegation made by the prosecution.

The resource-rich Southern African nation’s prosecutors chose not to comment.

Since Frelimo gained independence from Portuguese colonial power in 1975, the post-election protests against them have been the greatest, resulting in the deaths of over 300 people.

Frelimo disputes claims of electoral fraud, but Western analysts claim the poll in October was not free and fair.

Chapo and Mondlane had met for talks in March and May, which had given rise to signs that they were trying to forge a relationship. A “national dialogue” was also started by Chapo, and Mondlane was asked to join a presidential advisory committee.

Oxford Economics Africa political analyst Louw Nel stated that efforts to bring Mondlane to justice would “consider the political agreement Mozambique’s political actors made in March.”