On a large marquee set up on a packed football field on the foot of the Gorongosa mountain, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Ossufo Momade, the leader of the main opposition Renamo party, Thursday signed a deal to end almost half a century of hostilities that left over one million people killed.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by foreign diplomats including international peace brokers and experts, prominent politicians and officials and locals as the crowd cheered in Gorongosa, Renamo’s heartland in the central province of Sofala, 1, 239km northeast of the capital Maputo.
Analysts say both sides to the low-intensity conflict which found its roots in the 1970s seem weary of further conflict especially as Mozambique prepare for general elections next year.
Both the ruling Frelimo and Renamo are weighing their chances in the polls.
Prior to this landmark signing, accord after accord had been signed and broken by Mozambique’s two political heavyweights.
Despite an official end to the civil war 27 years ago, Renamo had retained an armed militia group which was blamed for a series of skirmishes with government forces especially in Sofala Province.
Mozambicans are therefore cautious about the latest peace deal which would once and for all banish the residuals of the civil war.
However, President Nyusi is choosing to look at the brighter side.
“Peace is here to stay and Mozambique is opening a new, more promising chapter free from the war and conflict that had slowed its development. Gorongosa is no longer associated with violence,” he told a crowd of over 1,000 people who had gathered for the signing ceremony.
Renamo fought President Nyusi’s ruling socialist Frelimo government during a a bitter 16-year civil war before a ceasefire ended the bloodshed in 1992.
However violence has flared up sporadically in the years since then over disputed 2014 general election results, which Renamo said were rigged in Frelimo’s favour.
Thursday’s peace pact preceeded a process that will culminate in the signing of a broader agreement in Maputo next week, expected to take place amid much fanfare but whose effectiveness remains to be seen.
For Renamo, which will contest general elections on 15 October next year for the fifth time and looks set to win a number of provinces, a peace treaty would help affirm its status as a legitimate political party.
Renamo leader Momade, who handed an AK47 rifle to President Filipe Nyusi to symbolise his committed to ending hostilities, said his party was now committed to making sure the elections are free, fair and transparent.
“With this agreement for the definitive cessation of military hostilities we want to convey to our people and the way we have eschew the logic of violence as a way of resolving our differences. From this new page, we believe that peace is here to stay and multi-party coexistence will be the hallmark of political parties. We believe that with this agreement, Mozambique can be spoken of favourably across borders,” Momade said drawing a round of applause from the cheering crowd.
The signing brought an end to a long peace negotiation process initiated by Renamo’s historic leader, Alfonso Dhlakama, who died in May last year.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, Renamo fought a brutal 16-year civil war against the Frelimo government that left one million people dead before the fighting ended in 1992.
Despite the end of the civil war and the group transforming into a political party, it retained an armed wing.
Fresh clashes erupted again between government forces and Renamo soldiers from 2013 to 2016.
CM/as/APA