More than 2,000 Mozambican families have fled to Malawi this week as violence continues to spread following Mozambique’s disputed October election, Malawian authorities reported.
Businesses, including banks, remained closed in the capital, Maputo, on Friday, with heightened security patrols deployed after a deadly prison riot and mass breakout on Wednesday.
The unrest erupted nearly two months ago when Mozambique’s electoral commission declared the ruling Frelimo party and its presidential candidate victorious. The opposition has accused Frelimo of electoral fraud, allegations the party firmly denies.
Tensions escalated further on Monday when Mozambique’s Constitutional Council upheld the election results, sparking renewed protests.
According to the monitoring group Plataforma Decide, at least 125 people have been killed since the court’s ruling, and the overall death toll since late October now stands at 252.
A senior Malawian official confirmed that as of Wednesday, 2,182 Mozambican households had crossed into Malawi’s Nsanje district, seeking refuge from the violence. Nsanje District Commissioner Dominic Mwandira described the situation as “dire,” stressing the urgent need for humanitarian aid.
Mozambique’s main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, who officially finished second in the election but rejects the results, has called for continued protests while urging supporters to avoid looting and destruction of public infrastructure.
The violence has also disrupted operations of foreign businesses in Mozambique, including Gemfields Group, South32, and Sasol.
On Tuesday, operations at Gemfields’ largest ruby mine were temporarily halted after a violent incident in which over 200 people attempted to storm a residential site for mine workers, setting structures ablaze. Security forces responded, resulting in the deaths of two individuals.
The Christmas Day prison riot in Maputo added to the chaos, leaving at least 33 inmates dead and over 1,500 escaping before some were recaptured.
Frelimo has maintained political dominance in Mozambique since independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975. However, Western observers have criticized the recent election, declaring it neither free nor fair.
