Daniel Chapo was sworn in on Wednesday as the fifth President of the Republic of Mozambique, in a ceremony held under heavy security measures. He read the oath of office and swore in at 11:12 AM local time, to the applause of the guests. As expected, the President of the Constitutional Court, Lúcia Ribeiro, received the symbols of power from the outgoing President, Filipe Nyusi, and, minutes later, formalized Chapo’s investiture.
The ceremony took place at the Praça da Independência, in central Maputo, under heavy security measures – both outside and within the venue – due to the announcement of demonstrations and protests called by the defeated candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognize the results of the October 9 elections. It is recalled that retaliations by security forces during the protests have already led to 300 deaths from gunfire and over 600 injuries, according to non-governmental organizations.
In his first speech as head of state, immediately following the investiture ceremony, Chapo promised not to be “a distant President, but a son of the nation”; he also issued a challenge: “United, we are capable of overcoming obstacles and turning difficulties into prosperity.”
The act of investiture, Chapo emphasized, “marks the beginning of a new phase of consolidation in the building of a sovereign and prosperous nation.” He promised a country with honest institutions and leaders, committed to the people and the country’s development. In his view, Mozambique cannot continue to be “a hostage of corruption, nepotism, and incompetence” of those who should serve the Mozambican people. “Today we begin together an era for Mozambique and a new era,” he said, before 2,500 guests, both national and foreign, promising to tackle organized crime and restore public security for families.
“We will work and invest in the system. Corruption is a disease that affects our system, with postal workers who suck the state dry. There will be no place for those who put their interests above those of the people. To the desperate youth, due to lack of employment, we will create an environment so that they can have jobs. Mozambique cannot continue with sycophancy, corruption, or inertia. Every citizen must act as an overseer to restore patriotism among all Mozambicans.”
On December 23, Daniel Chapo, 48 years old, was proclaimed by the Constitutional Council as the winner of the presidential election, with 65.17 percent of the votes, in the general elections of October 9, which also included legislative elections and elections for provincial assemblies, which Frelimo also won.
Mondlane attacks Rangel
The defeated candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, this week accused the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, of being “biased” and “manipulating” public opinion by claiming to have followed the post-election process in Mozambique. “There has been no work done on your part regarding the dialogue in Mozambique; on the contrary, you have always been biased, always taking totally sad positions, and always using adjectives against me,” Mondlane said in a live broadcast from his official Facebook account. He was addressing Rangel, who attended Chapo’s inauguration ceremony representing President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
“Know very well how you are going to position yourself in Mozambique,” Mondlane warned; however, he welcomed the absence of the President and Prime Minister from the ceremony. “Portugal sent the third line, which is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In fact, he is a minister who has always positioned himself very rudely, extremely disrespectfully towards me; he has already called me a populist, he has called me all sorts of names, and has made extremely sad public statements.” According to Mondlane, the only contact with the Portuguese Foreign Minister occurred on January 12, during a “casual, circumstantial” phone call, when meeting with Portuguese Ambassador António Costa Moura in Maputo.
Mondlane said that Rangel cannot claim that he has “maintained contacts” regarding the post-election process, marked by strikes and protests against the results. “It’s false; Dr. Paulo Rangel, you have not maintained any contact with me. We had a casual contact the day before your trip to Mozambique; so you cannot use this as if there were a history of contact with me. Since October 2024, when this started, I have always given priority to Portugal in my communications as a valid actor for mediating the post-election crisis in Mozambique. You never expressed yourself about this, you never did anything at all, and publicly you assigned me various adjectives, including populist,” Mondlane concluded.