Ossufo Momade (born 30 January 1961) is a Mozambican politician. He has served as president of the Mozambican National Resistance (

RENAMO RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppose ...

), the main opposition party of Mozambique since January 17, 2019. He assumed the presidency of the party after the death of its leader

Afonso Dhlakama Afonso Marceta Macacho Dhlakama (1 January 1953 – 3 May 2018) was a Mozambican politician and the leader of RENAMO, an anti-communist guerrilla movement that fought the FRELIMO government in the Mozambican Civil War before signing a peace ag ...

in May 2018 on an interim basis until he was elected president of the party at an internal congress held at the beginning of the following year. On August 1, 2019, Momade agreed to renounce violence and signed a peace agreement with Mozambique President

Filipe Nyusi Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (; born 12 February 1959) is a Mozambican politician serving as the fourth President of Mozambique since 2015. He is the current leader of FRELIMO, the party that has governed Mozambique since its independence from Portug ...

at RENAMO's remote military base in the Gorongosa mountains. This agreement resulted in the last remaining members of the RENAMO insurgency surrendering their weapons. A second signing ceremony then took place in Mapotu's Peace Square, which result in Momade declaring that he and members of RENAMO would now focus on "maintaining peace and national reconciliation."

Early life

Momade was born on the

Island of Mozambique The Island of Mozambique ( pt, Ilha de Moçambique) lies off northern Mozambique, between the Mozambique Channel and Mossuril Bay, and is part of Nampula Province. Prior to 1898, it was the capital of colonial Portuguese East Africa. With its r ...

when the region of Mozambique was still a Portuguese colony. He is the son of Ossufo Momade Sr. and Alide Zainabo. He attended Luís de Camões Elementary School, and after completing fourth grade in 1973, he moved to the Pêro da Covilhã Commercial School. In 1978 at the age of 17 Momade enlisted in the military.

Civil War

During the outbreak of the

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...

Momade was kidnapped by anti-communist rebels. Eventually he was persuaded to join the rebel organization called

and their leader Afonso Dhlakama. Momade eventually became the commander of the rebel's operations in the central provinces of Manica and

Sofala Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants. This name w ...

Political career

In 2007 Momade was elected secretary general of the party of RENAMO, a position he held until 2013 when he vacated it to Manuel Bissopo to become the appointed head of the defence and security department of RENAMO. After the death of party leader Afonso Dhlakama, Momade was made intern head of the part, a position he held until he was formally elected chief in January 2019. On 26 June 2019 Momade was formally announced as RENAMO's candidate for the 2019 Mozambican general election.

Peace with Mozambique government

On August 1, 2019, President Filipe Nyusi and Momade signed a peace agreement bringing an end to the six year RENAMO insurgency. During the signing ceremony, Momade and Nyusi also shook hands and embraced each other as well. The signing of the peace took place at RENAMO's remote military base in the Gorongosa mountains. After the agreement was signed, the last remained RENAMO fighters surrendered their weapons. Momade told the Associated Press "We will no longer commit the mistakes of the past." He also stated "We are for a humanized and dignified reintegration and we want the international community to help make that a reality." During a second signing ceremony between Nyusi and Momade which took place on August 6, 2019 in Maputo's Peace Square, Momade vowed to "maintain peace and national reconciliation."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Momade, Ossufo 1961 births Living people People from Nampula Province RENAMO politicians Mozambican rebels Mozambican military personnel