South Africa’s president appoints his security adviser as special envoy to mediate in Mozambique

MADRID Dec. 31 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, appointed this Monday his security advisor, Sydney Mufamadi, as a special envoy to Mozambique to meet with the country’s authorities and the opposition amid an escalation of violence after the presidential elections in October. , which gave victory to the official candidacy despite allegations of electoral fraud.

Mufamadi will travel to the neighboring country at the request of the South African president to talk with the interested parties and try to restore calm, reports the news portal IOL News.

South Africa’s Joint National Intelligence and Operations Structure has recently announced the intensification of its operations along its border with Mozambique to “ensure the security of its citizens and maintain regional stability.”

The African Union and the United Nations have already warned on several occasions about the growing violence in the country after the presidential elections held on October 9.

Last week, Mozambican authorities reported the death of more than 30 people in a riot in which around 1,500 people escaped and which took place in the central prison of Matula, on the outskirts of the capital, Maputo, while the The country experienced several consecutive days of chaos in the streets, with looting, vandalism and barricades.

Although the authorities have not provided a compiled tally of victims, the Mozambican NGO Plataforma Eleitoral Decide has confirmed the deaths of 252 people in the last two months.

Daniel Chapo, candidate of the historic Mozambique Liberation Front party (Frelimo), in power for half a century, won the last presidential elections with 65 percent of the votes, as confirmed a week ago by the Constitutional Court .

However, Venancio Mondlane, who has emerged as the main opposition figure, insists that there was electoral fraud and has announced that he will continue urging his followers to continue with the protests. Meanwhile, he remains out of the country, his whereabouts unknown since the end of October.