The new law was discreetly approved by FRELIMO in parliament, expressly referring that the decree only takes effect from the date of conclusion of the DDR, through a report prepared by the Joint Technical Group for the DDR, coordinated by the Swiss diplomat MIRKO MANZONI (MM), Special Representative of the UN SG. On the government side, it is the Ministry of Combatants, led by Minister JOSEFINA MPELO, who must validate the completion of the DDR.

The demobilization via the delivery of weapons and the deactivation of the Gorongosa base was scheduled for 19.DEC, a date that was exceeded due to lack of agreement between the guerrillas. This position of the military wing forced the president of RENAMO OSSUFO MOMADE (OM) to personally travel to the site in mid-DEC.2022 in an unsuccessful attempt to change the minds of the military. The definitive demobilization of RENAMO's military wing should have been crowned with the visit to Mozambique of the UN SG, ANTÓNIO GUTERRES (AG), in a ceremony attended by MM, OM and FN.

In the current phase of the process, a current within RENAMO, associated with the military wing, demands the non-closure of its last base while the government does not pay the pensions to the demobilized, contrary to the text of the law approved by the government. Despite OM's acceptance, the current FN guarantee continues to give the military wing no assurances, with doubts remaining about the future sustainability of the pension system – beyond mid-2028. READ MORE