South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who attended the inauguration of Daniel Chapo as Mozambique’s head of state in Maputo’s Praça da Independência on Wednesday 15 January, said he expected Mozambicans to have a ‘spirit of unity’ for ‘a brighter future.’
In a statement, Ramaphosa said that Chapo’s inauguration ‘is an opportunity for all the people of Mozambique to work together in favour of peace, democracy and development.’
He added that he hopes to work closely with the new President ‘to further strengthen the strong fraternal relations that exist between the two neighbouring countries’.
The South African head of state arrived in Maputo, accompanied by the ministers of International Relations and Cooperation and of the Presidency, to attend Chapo’s inauguration, which was attended by just one other president, Guinean Umaro Sissoco Embaló. Portugal is represented by the head of diplomacy, Paulo Rangel.
Daniel Chapo, sworn in as the fifth President of the Republic of Mozambique, was governor of Inhambane province when, in May 2024, he was chosen by the Central Committee to be the ruling party’s candidate to succeed Filipe Nyusi, who served two terms as President of the Republic.
On 23 December, Chapo, 48, was proclaimed by the Constitutional Council (CC) as the winner of the election for President of the Republic, with 65.17% of the votes. Having graduated in Law from Eduardo Mondlane University in 2000, the new head of state of Mozambique was born in Inhaminga, Sofala province, in the centre of the country, on 6 January 1977, making him the first President born since independence (1975).
The election of Daniel Chapo has been contested in the streets since October, with pro-Mondlane demonstrators – who according to the CC only obtained 24% of the votes, but who claim victory – demanding the ‘restoration of electoral truth’, with barricades, looting and clashes with the police, which have already led to 300 deaths and more than 600 people wounded by gunfire, according to civil society organisations monitoring the process.
Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane has called for three days of stoppages and demonstrations since Monday, contesting the swearing in of the elected members of Parliament and the investiture of the new President of the Republic.