Daniel Chapo, presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo party leaves with his wife, Gueta Chapo after casting their vote during the general elections at Inhambane, in southern Mozambique, October 9, 2024
Maputo, January 15 — Mozambique’s new President, Daniel Chapo, has been sworn in at a low-key ceremony in the capital, Maputo, more than three months after heavily disputed elections.
Most businesses in Maputo were shut after defeated presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for a national strike to protest against Chapo’s inauguration.
Chapo won the election held in October with 65% of the vote, extending the 49-year-rule of the Frelimo party.
Mondlane – who contested the election as an independent – came second with 24% of the vote. He rejected the result, saying it was rigged.
Mondlane called for a strike on inauguration day “against the thieves of the people”.
Both of Mozambique’s leading opposition parties – Renamo and MDM – boycotted the swearing-in ceremony because they too do not recognise Chapo as the rightful winner.
Even those in Mozambique who do wish Chapo well openly question his legitimacy.
“Chapo is someone I admire greatly,” civil society activist Mirna Chitsungo told the BBC.
“I worked with him for four years – I am familiar with his willingness to act, his openness to dialogue, and his readiness to follow recommendations from civil society on the ground.
“However, he is assuming an illegitimate power. This stems from a fraudulent electoral process… He is taking power in a context where the people do not accept him.”
In addition to winning over a hostile public, Chapo will also have to deliver the economic turnaround and halt to corruption that he promised on the campaign trail.
“Chapo will face many enemies because it looks like Mozambique is run by cartels, including cartels of books, cartel of medicines, cartel of sugar, cartel of drugs, cartel of kidnappings, mafia groups,” says analyst and investigative journalist Luis Nhanchote.
“He needs to have a strong team of experts, willing to join him in this crusade of dismantling the groups meticulously,” he adds.
“But first, he has to calm down Mozambicans and do all in his power to restore peace in the country.”
Daniel Francisco Chapo was born on 6 January 1977 in Inhaminga, a town in Sofala province, the sixth of 10 siblings. This was during Mozambique’s civil war, and the armed conflict forced his family to move to another nearby district.
His secondary schooling in the coastal city of Beira was followed by a law degree from Eduardo Mondlane University then a master’s degree in development management from the Catholic University of Mozambique.
Now married to Gueta Sulemane Chapo, with whom he has three children, Chapo is also said to be a church-going Christian and fan of basketball and football.
Many current and former colleagues describe Chapo as humble, hard-working and a patient leader.
Ahead of becoming the ruling Frelimo party’s presidential candidate, he had been a radio and television host, a legal notary, university lecturer and provincial governor before rising to the post of Frelimo general secretary.
Speaking at his recent birthday celebrations, Chapo himself acknowledged the daunting challenge awaiting him as president.
“We must recover our country economically… it’s easy to destroy, but building is not an easy task.”
National reconciliation, creating more jobs, reforming electoral law and decentralising power are top of his agenda, he said.
But how successful can he be without much of the country behind him?
At the very least he will mark a change from outgoing President Felipe Nyusi, whom Ms Chitsungo says many Mozambicans will be happy to see the back of.
“Chapo is a figure of dialogue and consensus, not one to perpetuate Nyusi’s violent governance style. He has the potential to negotiate with Mondlane.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who official results say came second to Chapo in the presidential election, returned from self-imposed exile last week and has urged his supporters to continue demonstrating.
The post-election protests amount to the largest against Frelimo in Mozambique’s history and have affected foreign businesses operating in the resource-rich southern African country of 35 million people. They have also disrupted cross-border trade and forced some to flee to neighbouring countries.
