
Venancio Mondlane vota na cidade de Maputo. Foto de Ferhat Momade
Maputo, 6 Jan (AIM) – Mozambique’s self-exiled presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, has promised to return home on Thursday.
In a live broadcast transmitted via his Facebook page, Mondlane announced that he will arrive at Maputo International Airport at 08.05 on Thursday.
He did not say where he would be coming from, or what airline he plans to use – but a check with the airport arrivals page shows that the only flight due to arrive at 08.05 on Thursday is the Qatar Airways flight from Doha.
This is a non-stop flight, and so Mondlane will be boarding in Doha. Qatar is an interesting choice for his self-imposed exile – it is the world’s third largest holder of natural gas reserves, and the second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Mozambique is also banking heavily on the recently discovered natural gas reserves in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Mondlane invited his supporters to greet him at the airport. But they might be in for a disappointment, since this is not the first time he has announced his impending return only to call it off.
Back in November, Mondlane declared repeatedly that he would lead the “march on Maputo” on 7 November, which was supposed to attract four million protesters (although less than a million people live in the capital).
But he did not show up, and then claimed that he had received messages from his followers urging him to stay away on security grounds.
This time Mondlane boasted that, should any attempt be made to arrest him, there would be “a popular uprising”.
Last month, the President of the Supreme Court, Adelino Muchanga, said there are no warrants out for Mondlane’s arrest – which means that, if he does fly to Maputo, he could leave the airport a free man.
Addressing the government, he said “You no longer need to pay mercenary companies scouring the world looking for me. I will personally be in Maputo,” declared Mondlane.
“You don’t need to chase me anymore. You can kill me, but my struggle will not die. With my fall, the popular fury that will erupt in Mozambique will have no parallel in African history” he claimed.
There is no evidence that the government has been hiring mercenaries to hunt Mondlane down.
(AIM)
Pf/ (391)