Migration authorities detained the passport of politician Venâncio Mondlane on Thursday (9) at Mavalane Airport, upon his arrival in Mozambique after almost three months in exile, from where he led demonstrations against electoral fraud.

A note posted on Facebook by his political advisor, Dinis Tivane, states that Migration's justification is that the document was confiscated because Mondlane had given up his status as a member of Parliament.

"Yesterday, when Engineer Venâncio Mondlane disembarked, his passport was retained by the Migration services. The explanation I was given is that the system no longer recognizes it, because its bearer has given up the status of Member of Parliament, so he can't have that type of passport," reads the announcement.

According to their statutes, members of the Assembly of the Republic are entitled to use a diplomatic passport. Under agreements between countries, citizens holding this type of document are exempt from visas when traveling between countries.

Dinis Tivane says that the "fraudulent" results of the General Elections of October 9, 2024, which put him as the second most voted presidential candidate, mean that he deserves to be treated accordingly.

For the political advisor, the retention of Mondlane's diplomatic passport is an act of intimidation. "It's like saying, 'we're detaining you in Mozambique'."

In the communication, he warned that a process "that will bring more dirt" will be launched to get his passport back.

"We're going to squeeze so hard that we'll even know who gave that illegal order, uncovering more facts about a party that thinks it's a state," he wrote.