Good afternoon. Opposition politician Venâncio Mondlane received a warm reception yesterday in the town of Vilanculos, where he was taking part in celebrations for the municipal day. He had been invited by Quinito Vilanculo, the town mayor and member of opposition party Renamo. Mondlane addressed a crowd of Renamo activists, and was received with applause, despite the fact that he left the party in June last year after falling out with the party leader, Ossufo Momade, and with senior figures like its National Council who had denied him the chance to challenge Momade for the party leadership. Incidentally, readers will search in vain for a report of Mondlane’s speech in the newspapers or on the TV news. Private as well as state-owned media have imposed a blackout on coverage of Mondlane, and journalists who fail to condemn him and the protests sufficiently have been receiving phone calls from senior figures in ruling party Frelimo, pressuring them to change course.
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There is certainly a sector of opinion within Renamo that says that it would be good for Mondlane to return to the party, and presumably lead it. One of those people is Raúl Novinte, the former mayor of the city of Nacala, who endorsed the idea in an interview recently (see below). However, the idea would probably not work for at least two reasons.
