~The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses~ Malcom X.
Let us go back a bit. Around the 16th century, Mozambique had been under Portuguese domination and colonial rule. The level of exploitation and gross disregard for the Natives humanity led to widespread dissatisfaction and inspired nationalist sentiments. In 1962, led by Samora Machel and Eduardo Mondlane, a liberation movement, Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO) was born and on June 25, 1975, after years of a violent liberation struggle, the Mozambican flag rose and the Portuguese flag descended, but the journey was far from over.
Samora Machel became the President of the new nation, and FRELIMO established a one-party Marxist-Leninist state. The media and journalism sector initially operated as an extension of FRELIMO’s governance, serving primarily as a vehicle for state ideology rather than an independent institution. In 1977, the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) political party came into existence and opposed the use of a Marxist-Leninist system of governance, and a brutal civil war erupted for 16 years. In the early 1990s, Mozambique began to move away from one-party Marxist-Leninist ideologies, and thus multi-party politics came to life, and the first multiparty elections were held in 1994. Joaquin Chissano of FRELIMO won the elections fairly then RENAMO became the opposition. Following the transition to a multi-party political system in the early 1990s, media independence began to emerge, in spite of continuous setbacks and political pressures.
Since the time Fellipe Nyusi first stepped foot in the Presidency, the electoral process has been marred with allegations of electoral fraud for his past two terms, in 2014 and 2019. The recent 2024 elections saw the worst case of post-election violence to date with approximately 300 casualties and 700 injured.
The disappointing state of democracy in Mozambique can undoubtedly be traced back to party politics. There has been a tendency of liberation movements-turned ruling parties to have a stronghold of power and do whatever it takes to maintain the power within the party. FRELIMO has been the ruling party for five decades and they use elections to feign democratic rule yet behind the scenes anyone or anything that dares threaten their power and authority will face the consequences. In Mozambique, journalism has become a very dangerous and life-threatening profession. It is no secret that FRELIMO has control over a few media outlets the likes of newspapers like Notícias and Domingo, Rádio Moçambique and Televisão de Moçambique, whose election coverage was rather biased, heavily censored and used to promote their narrative and fool the rest of the gullible citizens. Other more independent media outlets like Radio Esperança, TV Sucesso and Canal de Moçambique Newspaper have taken the stand in favor of promoting the truth as it is, raw and ugly and their experiences are a testament to a culture of media silencing.
Members of the press endured threats and beatings, torture, arrests, tear gas attacks, bullets fired at them, and phones containing damning evidence of police brutality confiscated.
The government attempted to cover up these attacks by cutting internet access through Mobitel, Vodafone, and Tmcel, but this saw people using VPNs; fortunately, the government failed to silence the media. The media was essentially used as a tool to ridicule, criticize and expose the lies and false narratives being spread by the state-owned press and essentially evoke urgency and a need to demonstrate in the name of democracy. Having a greater understanding that a large population of Mozambique is illiterate, the major channel for communication then became through radio stations and media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X.
The media was very strategic and intentional in choosing these forms of channel to spread their message partly due to a staggering 40% illiteracy rate. They had to figure out how to get the truth without just relying on written news. They could always rely on the radio stations, and the majority of the youth population preferred to get informed from social media networks. Then there is the older generation, who would rather read newspapers and watch television stations. Everyone was targeted, and the message was successfully conveyed. The media also made sure the world at large was made aware of the awful situation in Mozambique, making it impossible for a potential mass government cover-up.
There are also pressing issues in Mozambique’s political landscape: the lack of accountability for election-related violence and fraud. Despite widespread reports of voter suppression, ballot tampering, and violent crackdowns on protesters and journalists, there have been minimal consequences for those responsible. International organizations and human rights groups have condemned these actions, yet the ruling party continues to operate with impunity. The absence of a strong and independent judiciary further exacerbates the problem as legal institutions remain heavily influenced by political elites. Without meaningful reforms to ensure electoral transparency and judicial independence, Mozambique risks remaining trapped in a cycle of disputed elections, political violence, and growing public disillusionment with the democratic process.
However, the road to true democracy remains long and treacherous. The state of Mozambique’s democracy is close to nonexistent. Their politics is greatly determined by dominant party rule, flawed elections, restricted media freedom. The democracy that exists in Mozambique is the pretense of holding free and fair elections and limited civil liberties.
It is as good as saying Mozambique is an authoritarian state that puts on a façade of democracy. But then again, who is to say that if Mondlane is voted into office, he would do things any different? The desire for democracy in Mozambique is still alive, in spite of persistent setbacks and challenges being faced by the media, they still take a stand to promote democracy, transparency and accountability. As long as power remains concentrated in the hands of a single dominant party and as long as the freedom of the press is restricted, Mozambique will struggle to move beyond authoritarian tendencies disguised as democracy. The future of the nation depends on the resilience of its people, the courage of its journalists, and the willingness of new political movements to prioritize the will of the people over the desire for power.
Ultimately, the fight for democracy in Mozambique is not just a political battle; it is a societal one. Change will only come when there is a collective effort to dismantle oppressive structures and replace them with a governance system rooted in transparency, accountability, and true representation of the people’s will. The media will remain a crucial force in this transformation, ensuring that the voices of the oppressed are heard and that democracy, no matter how distant it may seem now, remains an achievable goal. We are of the opinion that the biggest change will come with the fall of the power-driven ideologies from FRELIMO and RENAMO and be replaced by more service for the country ideologies.