Renamo, the main opposition party in Mozambique, says that the information published on Thursday 22 that its leader, Ossufo Momade, is being held in the Gorongosa mountains in Sofala by guerrillas dissatisfied with the direction of the Demilitarization, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process is false and slanderous..

The president of Renamo Democrática, a new party still being created and made up of some dissident members of the main opposition political force, said that Ossufo Momade has been held in Gorongosa since last Tuesday by guerrillas who refuse to join the DDR and are demanding clarification from the Renamo president.

"The president of Renamo is in the custody of the guerrillas who refuse to be demobilized, and this is a concern for us," said Vitano Singamo quoted by VOA, adding that "this is what made it impossible to close the last Renamo base last Monday, the 19th."

Renamo, in the voice of António Timba, a senior cadre who is responsible for the party's financial area, says that "this information is not true, it is slanderous" and stresses that "a few moments ago (around 10 am), I was in contact with President Ossufo".

Timba said that Ossufo Momade was "in the forests of the Gorongosa mountains, where he had gone to deal with the DDR issue".

On the other hand, Singamo said that Ossufo Momade is not treating the DDR process correctly in his dialog with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, "and we ask that in this dialog, the Renamo leader commits to removing all the ghost guerrillas from the lists handed over to the government".

Meanwhile, Filipe Nyusi acknowledged last night in Maputo that there are problems with the lists submitted by Renamo of guerrillas to be integrated into the Mozambican police, although this issue does not affect the DDR process.

Nyusi was speaking during the official reception for heads of government and other state leaders on the occasion of the end of the year.

Renamo's main base was closed on Monday 19th in Gorongosa, putting an end to DDR, which, however, continues to face a lot of criticism and discontent from the guerrillas.

The former combatants admit that many promises remain unfulfilled.

This final chapter involved 350 guerrillas, including 50 women, bringing to an end the process that had involved more than 5,000 guerrillas.