Renamo generals spoke out on Saturday in the city of Beira about their dissatisfaction with the DDR process and the kidnappings and murders of members and demobilized soldiers. They demand the unconditional removal of their leader, Ossufo Momade.

A group made up of eight generals from the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) from all over the country called on Saturday in Beira, the capital of Sofala, central Mozambique, for the unconditional resignation of the party's president, Ossufo Momade.

They allege his "incapacity" to lead Mozambique's largest opposition party. On the same occasion, members of the party's national council were urged to call an extraordinary emergency congress to elect a new Renamo president.

"We no longer want [Ossufo Momade], he is no longer president of Renamo. We guerrillas have removed him. The [party] members don't want him either. If he insists, we will ask for help from the ambassadors, like the leader of the contact group, Mirko Manzoni," said Josefo de Sousa during the reading of the communiqué signed by Timosse Maquinze, the head of Renamo's general staff who is currently demobilized as part of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process for opposition party men.

"If he prevails, we will take him out by force just as Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and several other African presidents have been taken out. We have enough strength to do so and this is one of the first steps," added Maquinze in a speech made in the Chitewe language, which is predominant in the city of Chimoio.

The position was made public this Saturday (15.04) at a press conference at the residence of Timosse Maquinze, the former Renamo chief of staff, who is currently demobilized under the DDR.

Maquinze recalled that Momade was appointed interim coordinator of Renamo after the death of Afonso Dhlakama without consulting the military wing, which guarantees party discipline.

He also said that when Momade was elected leader, he "destroyed the entire structure of the general staff", having at the time "taken hostage some of the generals trusted by the late Afonso Dhlakama".

"Since then, he has trampled all over the agreements that [Dhlakama] had made. We're tired - President Ossufo Momade has abandoned the principles that guided the negotiations and has adapted a leadership style that doesn't help achieve Renamo's political objectives," they say.

"Authoritarian"

"It authoritatively introduced the method of nominating grassroots structures and grossly violated democratic principles," they add.

Timosse Maquinze also assured, on behalf of the combatants present and not present, that there should be no more war waged by Renamo fighters.

"We demand that President Momade resigns as president of Renamo, as his inability to lead the party has been proven," he said.

During the press conference, the president of Renamo was singled out as someone who is at the service of Frelimo and facilitating all the alleged "maneuvers" of the ruling party.

"Annul the districts"

"We see that President Ossufo has no desire to react to the 'appetite' of the President of the Republic [Filipe Nyusi] to 'tear up the Constitution of the Republic'."

"It leaves Frelimo to its own devices [and with its] clear objectives of annulling the process of district elections - which is one of the great achievements of Renamo's struggle - and introducing a third term for the Frelimo candidate and president," they criticize.

The Renamo fighters hope that by expressing their indignation, they will not be misunderstood and that they will not return to war.

"We also hope that our indignation with President Ossufo Momade will be understood as the only internal and peaceful way to leverage and organize our party," they say.

"We are for peace, national reconciliation and the development of the country," they say.

DW Africa tried to contact Renamo by phone, but received no reply.

Meanwhile, Domingos Gundana, a member of Renamo's contact commission for demobilized people, reacted and told the Mozambican press today that the guerrillas' allegations are false.

"This is normal whenever elections are approaching: there are members who seek to destabilize the party," said Gundana.

This is not the first time that members of Renamo have called for Momade's departure. On other occasions, Momade has also been accused of mismanagement and patronage within Renamo, the largest opposition political force in Mozambique.

Source: DW Africa