A Campaign of Disappearances: Inside the Killings, Abductions and Surveillance of Mozambique’s Government Critics

Since the 2024 elections, more than 400 of Mondlane’s supporters have reportedly been subjected to violence, including 55 who were killed. According to party representatives interviewed by the consortium, Chissale became one of many victims of this broader campaign of repression directed at those who challenged the regime during the election period. In January 2025, the NGO DECIDE reported more than “4,000 detained and over 3,000 injured” in connection with the post-election crackdown. “We’re talking about irreversible injuries,” Mondlane said.

Complaints filed by Mondlane with Mozambique’s Attorney General’s Office, reviewed by Forbidden Stories, describe authorities and police units committing extrajudicial killings, severe injuries, mutilations, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and the destruction of property against Mondlane’s supporters.

(The Mozambican Ministry of Interior and Prosecutor’s Office did not reply to the consortium’s request for comment.)

The “Mozambique Exposed” project has found that the use of block leaders called “ c hefes de quarteirão,” is one of the state’s methods for crushing dissent. According to several sources interviewed by the consortium, block leaders are local operatives affiliated with the ruling party to monitor the population at a neighbourhood level. Though they don’t have formal administrative status, they remain deeply embedded in the daily lives of Mozambicans.

Historically, block chiefs functioned as the neighborhood’s eyes and ears. “You’d have to tell them where you were moving, for how long, for which purpose, where you stay. You also had to be registered with them if you moved into the block. So these people, they have information,” Carlos Quembo, researcher at Amnesty International, told the consortium.

According to Quembo, they also hold party meetings at a block level, giving them unique insight into local political allegiances, including potential opposition supporters. “In fact, I would argue they are the only ones who have concrete information about who is who in each neighborhood.”