On October 19, 2024, a shooting in Maputo resulted in the death of Elvino Dias. Dias was the lawyer for opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane and a significant figure in Mozambique's tense political situation. He was killed along with Paulo Guambe, an official from the Podemos opposition party. This assassination marked a new, violent phase of political repression.
This was not the only tragedy. After the disputed general elections in October 2024, which led to large public protests and criticism from international observers, violence spread across the country. Since the election, more than 400 people connected to Mondlane's opposition movement have been physically attacked, and at least 55 have been killed.
A large journalistic project called "Mozambique Exposed" investigated the crisis for five months. About thirty-five reporters from twelve different news organizations worked together, coordinated by Forbidden Stories. They conducted around 100 interviews.
Their findings often point to the National Criminal Investigation Service, known as Sernic. Officially, this agency is only supposed to conduct independent criminal investigations. However, human rights activists believe it acts as a tool for political control by Frelimo, the ruling party since the country's independence in 1975.
"Sernic is like the army of the government. They find people on the streets, in bars," said Borges Nhamirre, a researcher. The agency uses phone monitoring extensively. Mozambique's three mobile phone companies have connections to the state or the ruling party. The government owns MCEL. Movitel is mostly owned by a company linked to Vietnam's defense industry, and a Frelimo company owns 20 percent. Vodacom's smaller shares are owned by people close to the government.
Because of this, people are very careful. "Protecting data is very weak in Mozambique. People do not use phone calls much. They prefer apps like WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram," Nhamirre added. This digital tracking is combined with human surveillance. Local leaders, called chefes de quarteirao, often belong to Frelimo and watch their neighborhoods. One admitted to giving community information to the police.
Amnesty International researcher Carlos Quembo explained that these local leaders are important. "You must tell them if you move house. You have to explain where, when, and why," he said.
The human cost of this surveillance is high. On January 7, 2025, five men, some possibly in police uniforms, took journalist Arlindo Chissale from his car. Chissale, the editor of Pinnacle News, has been missing for over a year and a half.
Violence also occurs outside the capital. In Zambezia province, unknown attackers targeted Eugénio Raúl Madeira, an organizer for Podemos, in late December 2024. Another opposition group, Anamola, has given evidence to the Attorney General's Office about six attacks on its members by armed groups.
These actions are similar to older, unsolved cases. When businessman Américo Sebastião disappeared in 2016, Portuguese authorities tracked his bank card for ten days. They identified a Sernic agent, Sergio Aviao, as a suspect. Aviao confirmed he was a police officer then. Despite this evidence, Mozambican officials closed the investigation.
Today, a climate of fear exists. A 2025 report by Human Rights Watch stated that government institutions have failed to investigate the post-election killings fairly. The government has also stopped the press from reporting on the conflict in the Cabo Delgado region.
With five media workers killed and two poisoned since the 2023 elections, the message to critics is clear. In a country where police are accused of harming citizens, silence has become a way to survive.