View source for RENAMO

{{Short description|Mozambican political party}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Update|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = Mozambican National Resistance
| native_name = Resistência Nacional Moçambicana
| native_name_lang = pt
| abbreviation = RENAMO
| colorcode = {{Party color|RENAMO}}
| logo = Logo of the RENAMO.png
| president = [[Ossufo Momade]]
| founder = [[André Matsangaissa]]
| secretary_general = Clementina Bomba<ref>https://www.renamo.org.mz/secretarioGeral/index.html A Secretária-Geral</ref>
| spokesperson = 
| foundation = {{start date|1977|5}}
| dissolution = 
| headquarters = Avenida Ahmed Sekou Touré Nº 657, [[Maputo]]
| newspaper = 
| youth_wing = RENAMO Youth League
| membership_year = 
| membership = 
| ideology = [[Nationalism|Mozambican nationalism]]<br />[[Conservatism]]<br />[[Economic liberalism]]<br />[[Anti-communism]]
| position = {{nowrap|[[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kadima |first=Denis |date=2014-06-01 |title=An introduction to the Politics of Party Alliances and Coalitions in Socially-divided Africa |journal=Journal of African Elections |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |doi=10.20940/jae/2014/v13i1a1 |doi-broken-date=18 July 2025 |issn=1609-4700|doi-access=free }}</ref> to [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fflch.usp.br/ds/plural/edicoes/20_1/plural_v20n1_entrevista.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211131231/http://www.fflch.usp.br/ds/plural/edicoes/20_1/plural_v20n1_entrevista.pdf|url-status=dead|title="Em Moçambique só há partidos de direita": uma entrevista com Michel Cahen. MACEDO, Victor Miguel Castillo de; MALOA, Joaquim – ''Revista do Programa de Pós‑Graduação em Sociologia da USP''|archive-date=11 December 2013}}</ref>}}
| national = 
| continental = [[Democrat Union of Africa]]
| international = [[Centrist Democrat International]] (observer)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://idc-cdi.com/en/parties/|title=Partidos Archivo – idc-cdi|access-date=24 April 2017}}</ref>
| seats1_title = [[Assembly of the Republic (Mozambique)|Assembly of the Republic]]
| seats1 = {{Composition bar|28|250|{{Party color|RENAMO}}}}
| colors = 
| flag = [[File:Flag of RENAMO (3rd version).png|200px]]
| website = {{URL|http://www.renamo.org.mz/}}
| footnotes = 
| country = Mozambique
}}

'''RENAMO''' (from the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] '''{{lang|pt|Resistência Nacional Moçambicana}}''', {{literally|Mozambican National Resistance}}) is a [[Mozambique|Mozambican]] political party and [[militant]] group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the [[Rhodesia]]n [[Central Intelligence Organisation]] (CIO) in May 1977 from [[anti-communist]] dissidents opposed to Mozambique's ruling [[FRELIMO]] party.<ref name=Leviathan>{{cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Margaret|last2=Young|first2=Thomas|title=Confronting Leviathan: Mozambique since independence|date=1997|pages=117–120|publisher=Ohio University Press|location=Athens|isbn=0-8214-1191-8}}</ref> RENAMO was initially led by [[André Matsangaissa]], a former senior official in FRELIMO's armed wing, and was composed of several anti-communist dissident groups which appeared immediately prior to, and shortly following, Mozambican independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg-e.org/geh01/geh16.html|title=''Binding Memories'': Chronology|access-date=28 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="Emerson2014">{{harvnb|Emerson|2014|pp=74–110}}</ref> Matsangaissa, who died in 1979, was succeeded by [[Afonso Dhlakama]], who led the organization until he died in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-03/afonso-dhlakama-mozambique-s-opposition-leader-dies-at-65|title=Afonso Dhlakama, Mozambique's Opposition Leader, Dies at 65|date=3 May 2018|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://clubofmozambique.com/news/chronology-main-dates-in-the-life-of-renamo-leader-afonso-dhlakama/|title=Chronology: Main dates in the life of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama |website=Club of Mozambique}}</ref> He was succeeded by [[Ossufo Momade]].<ref name=secondsigning>{{Cite web|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2019-08-08-00-mozambique-rivals-sign-peace-deal/|title=Mozambique rivals sign peace deal|date=8 August 2019}}</ref>

Critics of RENAMO frequently described the movement as a proxy of Rhodesia and [[Apartheid|South Africa's apartheid government]].<ref name=Oz>{{cite web|url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/publications/eras/edition-11/articles/drobinson.pdf |title=Renamo, Malawi and the struggle to succeed Banda: Assessing theories of Malawian intervention in the Mozambican Civil War |website=arts.monash.edu.au |date=2009-11-11 |access-date=2016-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328161718/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/publications/eras/edition-11/articles/drobinson.pdf |archive-date=28 March 2012 }}</ref> It has been theorised that RENAMO was formed for the sole purpose of countering FRELIMO support for the [[Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army]] (ZANLA).<ref name=Conc>{{cite web|url=http://www.c-r.org/downloads/Accord%20Mozambique_Key%20actors.pdf |title=Key Actors in the War and Peace Process |publisher=[[Conciliation Resources]] |date=January 1998|access-date=2016-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309230400/http://www.c-r.org/downloads/Accord%20Mozambique_Key%20actors.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2016 }}</ref> On the other hand, RENAMO was also reflective of FRELIMO's own splintering support base and dwindling popularity in the immediate post-independence era.<ref name="Emerson2014"/> Its political programme centered around the abandonment of FRELIMO's socialist policies, the adoption of a free market economy, and more traditionalist concerns such as the reinstatement of tribal leaders to positions of authority.<ref name=Alden>{{cite book|last=Alden|first=Christopher|title=Mozambique and the Construction of the New African State: From Negotiations to Nation Building|date=2001|pages=15–31|publisher=Palgrave|location=Basingstoke |isbn=0-312-23594-1}}</ref> RENAMO's ranks included a number of Mozambican political exiles who genuinely opposed FRELIMO on principle, including FRELIMO defectors disillusioned with its Marxist–Leninist ideology, but also large numbers of recruits conscripted by force.<ref name="HRW">{{cite book|last=Watch|first=Human Rights|title=Conspicuous destruction: war, famine and the reform process in Mozambique|year=1992|publisher=Human Rights Watch|location=New York u.a.|isbn=978-1-56432-079-7|pages=86–88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PkGpxJaAIIC&q=Teodato+Hunguana&pg=PA174}}</ref>

With Rhodesian support, RENAMO commenced an insurgency against the FRELIMO government in 1977, sparking the [[Mozambican Civil War]].<ref name=Leviathan/> The war was characterised by severe human rights violations on both sides and crippled the already debilitated Mozambican economy.<ref name="HRW"/> RENAMO and FRELIMO acceded to the [[Rome General Peace Accords]] in October 1992, which ended FRELIMO's one-party state and introduced multi-party democratic elections.<ref name=Alden/> In return, RENAMO pledged to abandon its armed struggle and conduct its future activities by political means within the framework of the new electoral system.<ref name=Alden/> Following the end of the war, RENAMO was responsible for promoting constitutional reforms as well as the promotion of a strong domestic private sector.<ref name=Manifesto>{{cite web|url=http://www.kas.de/upload/dokumente/attv0kxy.pdf |title=Main Renamo Policy Guidelines |publisher=RENAMO-UNIÃO ELEITORAL |date=2004 |access-date=2016-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610215141/http://www.kas.de/upload/dokumente/attv0kxy.pdf |archive-date=10 June 2015 }}</ref>

Renewed clashes broke out between RENAMO's militant forces and the FRELIMO government in 2013.<ref name="BaseAugust">{{cite web|title=Mozambique army destroys rebel base: police|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/mozambique-army-destroys-rebel-base-police-20160911|location=Cape Town|publisher=South African Associated Press|date=12 September 2016|access-date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924064519/http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/mozambique-army-destroys-rebel-base-police-20160911|archive-date=24 September 2016}}</ref><ref name=allafrica>{{cite news|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201405170059.html|title=Mozambique: Renamo Kills Mozambican Soldiers in Zambezia|agency=allAfrica|access-date=15 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930001030/http://allafrica.com/stories/201405170059.html|archive-date=30 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> RENAMO resumed its insurgency, citing state corruption and electoral fraud perpetuated by FRELIMO officials.<ref name="BaseAugust"/> A second peace agreement was reached between RENAMO and FRELIMO in August 2019, resulting in the virtual end of the insurgency.<ref name=voaconflictend>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_mozambique-president-opposition-leader-sign-peace-agreement/6173022.html|title=Mozambique President, Opposition Leader Sign Peace Agreement|date=August 2019 |publisher=Voice of America|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228045418/https://www.voanews.com/africa/mozambique-president-opposition-leader-sign-peace-agreement|archive-date= February 28, 2021}}</ref><ref name=secondsigning/> A RENAMO splinter group known as the RENAMO Military Junta (RMJ) was quickly formed from party dissidents opposed to the peace process; the RMJ continued to carry out minor guerrilla operations until December 2021, when the last of its members surrendered to Mozambican security forces.<ref name="end">{{cite web| url = https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambique-end-of-renamo-military-junta-says-un-envoy-aim-206040/ | title = Mozambique: End of Renamo Military Junta, says UN envoy – AIM | work = Club of Mozambique| date = 3 December 2021 | access-date = 17 February 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619005324/https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambique-end-of-renamo-military-junta-says-un-envoy-aim-206040/|archive-date= June 19, 2022 }}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Mozambique1994.png|thumb|300px|RENAMO-held areas in 1994]]

===Independence and formation===

From the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, [[Portugal]] fought a series of [[Portuguese Colonial War|bitter counter-insurgency conflicts]] against independence movements in its three primary African colonies—[[Angola]], Mozambique, and [[Guinea-Bissau]]. In Mozambique, the armed struggle against colonial rule was spearheaded by the [[Front for the Liberation of Mozambique]] (FRELIMO), which was initially formed in exile in neighbouring [[Tanzania]].<ref name=Nationalism>{{cite book|last=Derluguian|first=Georgi|editor-last=Morier-Genoud|editor-first=Eric|title=Sure Road? Nationalisms in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique|date=1997|pages=81–95|publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV|location=Leiden|isbn=978-9004222618}}</ref> FRELIMO recruited from Mozambican migrant workers and intellectuals living abroad, where they had been exposed to the emerging popularity of anti-colonial and nationalist causes overseas.<ref name=Nationalism/><ref name=Walters>{{cite book|last=Walters|first=Barbara|editor-last=Snyder|editor-first=Jack|title=Civil Wars, Insecurity, and Intervention|date=1999|pages=52–58|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-0231116275}}</ref> Its political programme was anti-colonial, but also anti-traditionalist; FRELIMO leaders planned to wrest social and political power from the Portuguese administration, as well as on the grassroots level from local tribal authorities.<ref name=Hume>{{cite book|last=Hume|first=Cameron|title=Ending Mozambique's War: The Role of Mediation and Good Offices|date=1994|pages=81–95|publisher=United States Institute of Peace Press|location=Washington DC|isbn=1-878379-38-0}}</ref> The party also envisioned a radical restructuring of post-colonial Mozambican society in accordance with the principles of [[scientific socialism]].<ref name=Hume/> In September 1964, FRELIMO initiated an armed insurgency.<ref name=Nationalism/> Its decision to take up arms was influenced by a number of internal and external factors, namely the recent successes of indigenous anti-colonial guerrilla movements in [[French Indochina]] and [[French Algeria]], as well as encouragement from contemporary African statesmen such as [[Ahmed Ben Bella]], [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], and [[Julius Nyerere]].<ref name=Nationalism/> FRELIMO insurgents initially received training primarily in North Africa and the Middle East in countries such as [[Algeria]], with the [[Soviet Union]] and People's Republic of [[China]] providing military equipment.<ref name=Nationalism/> FRELIMO established a permanent foothold in underdeveloped northern Mozambique and began expanding its operations southwards, reaching the central provinces by 1973.<ref name=Hume/> Portugal responded with increasingly large scale [[search and destroy]] operations and strengthening military and intelligence ties to the neighbouring states of [[Rhodesia]] and [[South Africa]], then ruled by white minority governments sympathetic to the colonial regime.<ref name=Unity>{{cite book|last=Sayaka|first=Funada-Classen|title=The Origins of War in Mozambique: A History of Unity and Division|date=2013|pages=263–267|publisher=African Minds|location=Somerset West|isbn=978-1920489977}}</ref> FRELIMO, in turn, forged an informal alliance with a Rhodesian insurgent movement, the [[Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army]] (ZANLA).<ref name=Unity/> ZANLA insurgents were permitted to infiltrate Rhodesian territory from FRELIMO-held areas of Mozambique, inexorably linking the Mozambican conflict to the [[Rhodesian Bush War]].<ref name=Unity/>

The 1974 [[Carnation Revolution]] and the collapse of Portugal's right-wing ''[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]'' government plunged Lisbon into turmoil and brought to power a military junta known as the [[Armed Forces Movement]].<ref name="George">{{cite book|title=The Cuban intervention in Angola |last=George|first=Edward|location=New York|publisher=Frank Cass Publishers|year=2005|isbn=978-0415647106|pages=49–53}}</ref> The Portuguese junta was committed to divesting itself of the colonies and ending the increasingly costly African wars.<ref name="George"/> The resulting confusion among the metropole's military forces in Mozambique allowed FRELIMO to wrest control of large sections of the territory from the Portuguese.<ref name=Finnegan/> In the absence of Portuguese repression, a number of new Mozambican political parties, including some formed by FRELIMO splinter factions, appeared and began campaigning for support.<ref name=Finnegan>{{cite book|last=Finnegan|first=William|title=A Complicated War: The Harrowing of Mozambique|url=https://archive.org/details/complicatedwarha00finn|url-access=registration|date=1992|pages=[https://archive.org/details/complicatedwarha00finn/page/112 112–118]|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0520082663}}</ref> Portugal announced it would initiate a political transition in Mozambique simultaneously with multi-party elections prior to independence, but FRELIMO condemned the proposal.<ref name=Hume/> The party's leadership, headed by [[Samora Machel]], countered that it was the sole legitimate representative of the Mozambican people, and demanded it be permitted to take power directly, without multi-party elections.<ref name=Hume/> In early September 1974, Portugal announced it would comply with FRELIMO's request.<ref name=Finnegan/> Portuguese officials promised that after nine months, the positions of local government would be handed to FRELIMO appointees, and no elections would be held.<ref name=Finnegan/>

The decision to effect a direct transfer of power to FRELIMO, without a local referendum or elections, was greeted with trepidation by South Africa and Rhodesia.<ref name=Volk>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Jamie|title=An African Volk: The Apartheid Regime and Its Search for Survival|year=2016|pages=122–126, 314|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0190274832}}</ref> It also resulted in an exodus of Portuguese settlers, FRELIMO dissidents, and indigenous troops who had served with Portuguese auxiliary units, including the elite [[Flechas]], fearing retribution under the new regime.<ref name=Leviathan/> Many of the new exiles fled to Rhodesia, where they were recruited as assets by the Rhodesian [[Central Intelligence Organisation]] (CIO).<ref name=Leviathan/> The most prominent anti-FRELIMO exile in Rhodesia was Orlando Cristina, a former member of the colonial security services in Mozambique who had served as a regional liaison with the Rhodesian government.<ref name=Leviathan/> Cristina set up a Portuguese-language radio broadcasting station, known as ''Voz da Africa Livre'', which broadcast anti-communist and anti-FRELIMO messages into Mozambique.<ref name=Leviathan/> Cristina's broadcasts called attention to human rights violations committed by FRELIMO, including the detention of party dissidents, and accused FRELIMO of betraying Mozambican nationalism by pandering to the Marxist ideology of the Soviet Union.<ref name=Leviathan/> The CIO hoped to use ''Voz da Africa Livre'' to recruit disaffected Mozambicans for an anti-FRELIMO paramilitary force.<ref name=Leviathan/> One such recruit was [[André Matsangaissa]], a former FRELIMO official who had been imprisoned by the party in a re-education camp following the transfer of power; Matsangaissa had subsequently escaped to Rhodesia and was familiar with Cristina's broadcasts.<ref name=Leviathan/> Matsangaissa met with Cristina and argued that hostile radio messages alone could not change the political situation in Mozambique; armed struggle was necessary.<ref name=Leviathan/> Shortly thereafter, the CIO recruited Matsangaissa as the leader for its new anti-FRELIMO force.<ref name=Leviathan/> The militants received guerrilla training from the CIO and were infiltrated back into Mozambique, where they conducted surveillance of ZANLA movements at the Rhodesians' behest.<ref name=Leviathan/> In February 1977, the unit demonstrated its ability to carry out autonomous operations when it stormed a FRELIMO re-education camp in [[Sofala Province]], freeing the detainees there.<ref name=Leviathan/> During a meeting at Cristina's home in May 1977, the unit's leadership formally adopted the title ''Resistência Nacional Moçambicana'' (RENAMO).<ref name=Leviathan/>

===Later activity===
RENAMO unified with another rebel group, the [[Revolutionary Party of Mozambique]] (PRM) in 1982. As a result of this merger, the rebel group was able to expand its operations in northern Mozambique, particularly in [[Zambezia Province]].{{sfnp|Cabrita|2000|p=202}}{{sfnp|Emerson|2014|p=90}} In 1984 the South African and Mozambican governments signed the [[Nkomati Accord]],<ref>Ashton, P.J., Earle, A., Malzbender, D., Moloi, M.B.H., Patrick, M.J. & Turton, A.R. 2005. ''A Compilation of all the international freshwater agreements entered into by South Africa with other States''. Pretoria: Water Research Commission; and Turton, A.R. 2003. ''The political aspects of institutional development in the water sector: South Africa and its International River Basions'' D.Phil. Thesis. Pretoria: Pretoria University; and Turton, A.R. 2007. ''The Hydropolitics of Cooperation: South Africa during the Cold War''. In Grover, V.E. (ed). ''Water: A source of conflict or cooperation?'' Enfield: Science Publishers.</ref> in which the South African National Party minority regime promised to stop sponsoring RENAMO operations if the Mozambican government expelled exiled members of the [[African National Congress]] (ANC) residing there. This was consistent with the [[Total National Strategy]] pursued by the [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] regime, utilizing threats of military reprisals to force Mozambique into subjugation under the [[Afrikaner nationalism|Afrikaner nationalists]] hegemonial ambitions in the region.<ref>Geldenhuys, D. 1984. ''The Diplomacy of Isolation: South African Foreign Policy Making''. Johannesburg: MacMillan.</ref> In 1988, RENAMO experienced its only major split during the civil war, when former PRM commander Gimo Phiri broke off and founded an independent insurgent group known as [[Mozambican National Union]] (UNAMO).{{sfnp|Emerson|2014|p=163}}

While the Mozambican government did shut down the local ANC offices and its operations in accordance with the Nkomati Accord, the National Party government of South Africa continued funnelling financial and military resources to RENAMO.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPVw4E9qBGIC&dq=nkomati+accord+anc+offices+closed&pg=PA155|title=Africa|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-39822-0|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ellis|first=Stephen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQyxAAAAQBAJ&dq=nkomati+accord+anc+offices+closed&pg=PP207|title=External Mission: The ANC in Exile, 1960-1990|date=2013-10-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-936529-6|language=en}}</ref> A permanent [[Rome General Peace Accords|peace accord]] was reached only in 1992, monitored by the [[United Nations Operation in Mozambique]] (UNOMOZ) until its finalisation in 1994. This process went on simultaneously to the [[Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa|negotiations]] between the [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] minority government and the ANC about the termination of Apartheid policies and the transformation to a democratic dispensation in South Africa. The South African National Intelligence Service initiated the [[Operation Bush Talk]], which was designed to phase out the National Party's longstanding substantial support to RENAMO and allow their proxy to accommodate to the new regional realities.<ref>Turton. A.R. 2010. ''Shaking Hands with Billy''. Durban: Just Done Publications. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221102105105/http://www.shakinghandswithbilly.com/admin/ckeditor/litsoft-fm_v1.00/userfiles/files/Billy%20Table%20of%20Contents.pdf Shaking Hands with Billy: The Private Memoirs of Anthony Richard Turton]</ref>

The peace accord led to the disarmament of RENAMO, the integration of some of its fighters into the Mozambican army, and its transformation into a regular political party.  It is now the main opposition party in Mozambique. At the [[legislative]] [[elections in Mozambique|elections]] on 1 and 2 December 2004, the party was the main part of the [[Renamo-UE]] electoral alliance, which won 29.7% of the popular vote and 90 out of 250 seats. The presidential candidate of this alliance, [[Afonso Dhlakama]], won 31.7% of the popular vote.

[[Raul Domingos]], negotiator at the [[Rome General Peace Accords]] and RENAMO's leader in parliament from 1994 to 1999, was expelled from the party in 2000, and in 2003, founded the [[Party for Peace, Democracy, and Development]].{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== Activities in Zimbabwe ===
RENAMO forces attacked an army base in [[Zimbabwe]] near [[Mukosa]] on 17 June 1987, killing seven soldiers and wounding 19. RENAMO attacked the Katiyo Tea Estate, destroying valuable property, in July and killed three men in Rushinga in August.<ref name="earlyattacks">Audrey Kalley, Jacqueline. ''Southern African Political History: a chronological of key political events from independence to Mid-1997'', 1999. Page 739.</ref> On 30 November, RENAMO militants burned down 13 houses.<ref name="juneattack">Audrey Kalley, Jacqueline. ''Southern African Political History: a chronological of key political events from independence to Mid-1997'', 1999. Page 742.</ref>

Between December 1987 and 21 January 1988, RENAMO performed 101 attacks near the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border.<ref name="juneattack"/> Following the end of the Mozambican Civil War, RENAMO remained linked to a Zimbabwean militant group, [[Chimwenje]].<ref name="Handbook11">{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|editor1-last=Banks|editor1-first=Arthur|editor2-last=Muller|editor2-first=Thomas|editor3-last=Phelan|editor3-first=Sean|editor4-last=Smith|editor4-first=Hal|editor5-last=Milnor|editor5-first=Andrew|editor6-last=Kimmelman|editor6-first=Eric|editor7-last=Aytar|editor7-first=Volkan|editor8-last=Twetten|editor8-first=Matthew|editor9-last=Willey|editor9-first=Joseph|editor10-last=Tallman|editor10-first=Elaine|title=Political Handbook of the World: 1998|date=1998|pages=633–634, 1045–1046|publisher=CSA Publications|location=Binghamton, New York|isbn=978-1-349-14953-7}}</ref>

=== International dimension and Human Rights record ===
Apart from their primary supporters, initially the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation until 1979<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lulat|first=Y. G.-M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkVv3_-U56QC&dq=renamo+cio&pg=PA272|title=United States Relations with South Africa: A Critical Overview from the Colonial Period to the Present|date=2008|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-0-8204-7906-4|pages=272|language=en}}</ref> and afterwards, the South African Directorate of Special Tasks (DST),<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vines|first=Alex|date=2013-06-01|title=Renamo's Rise and Decline: The Politics of Reintegration in Mozambique|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13533312.2013.840087|journal=International Peacekeeping|volume=20|issue=3|pages=375–393|doi=10.1080/13533312.2013.840087|s2cid=143992994|issn=1353-3312|url-access=subscription}}</ref> RENAMO also enjoyed some level of international recognition, support and funding. [[Chester Crocker]], then the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]], viewed RENAMO as "African Khmer Rouge". While RENAMO styled itself as "anti-communist", its brutal conduct and lack of political legitimacy made the organisation unsuitable as a partner, since it jeopardised the State Department attempts to gain rapport with the FRELIMO government and the Mozambican population, in order to increase the [[Western Bloc|Western Bloc's]] influence on the region.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Uhlig|first=Mark A.|date=1993-01-31|title=Reagan's Man in Africa|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/31/books/reagans-man-in-africa.html|access-date=2021-11-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780822379423-008/html|chapter=7 Mozambique: Factions, Fights, and the Rejection of the Reagan Doctrine|date=1996-05-30|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-7942-3|language=en|doi=10.1515/9780822379423-008|title=Deciding to Intervene|pages=193–212|s2cid=242511510}}</ref> Contrary to that stance stood the active engagement of the far-right [[The Heritage Foundation|Heritage Foundation]] for the cause of RENAMO.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1992|title=Conspiciouos Destruction – War, Famine and the Reform Process in Mozambique. An African Watch|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/Mozamb927.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113164138/https://www.hrw.org/reports/Mozamb927.pdf|archive-date=2021-11-13|access-date=2021-11-24|website=Human Rights Watch|pages=187}}</ref>

West German academic [[André Thomashausen|Andre Thomashausen]] and his mentor Werner Kaltefleiter served as vital links between West German right-wing conservative, anti-socialist political circles and RENAMO. Thomashausen is alleged to have had close links to both the West German and apartheid South African intelligence services, while being officially employed as a professor at the [[University of South Africa]] and in various managerial positions (in particular for West German corporations engaged in the apartheid economy) since 1982, when he moved to South Africa and immediately was granted citizenship by the National Party minority government. Thomashausen acted as a confidante and an advisor to the RENAMO leadership.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thomashausen|first=Andre|date=2021-11-23|title=CURRICULUM VITAE PROF . DR. ANDRÉ THOMASHAUSEN|url=http://legesmundi.com/files/ThomashausenCV25Feb018.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215081005/http://legesmundi.com/files/ThomashausenCV25Feb018.pdf|archive-date=2020-02-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Paffenholz|first=Thania|title=Konflikttransformation durch Vermittlung : theoretische und praktische Erkenntnisse aus dem Friedensprozess in Mosambik (1976-1995)|date=1998|publisher=Matthias-Grünewald|isbn=3-7867-2137-8|location=Mainz|pages=221–227|language=de|oclc=47254115}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=1998-01-23|title=Motshekga's mentor was Dr Renamo|url=https://mg.co.za/article/1998-01-23-motshekgas-mentor-was-dr-renamo/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=The Mail & Guardian|language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Margaret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zug8jlH9lowC&dq=Thomashausen+Kaltefleiter+renamo&pg=PA134|title=Confronting Leviathan: Mozambique Since Independence|last2=Young|first2=Tom|date=1997|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-85065-115-4|pages=134|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Vuuren|first=Hennie Van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-A3LuQEACAAJ&q=thomashausen|title=Apartheid Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit|date=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-1-78738-097-4|pages=383|language=en}}</ref> A related network of West German RENAMO lobbyists evolved around Bavarian Prime Minister and leader of the conservative [[Christian Social Union in Bavaria|CSU]] party [[Franz Josef Strauss]]. The provincial leader engaged in his own far right foreign policy in support of apartheid and anti-socialist paramilitary forces in Southern Africa, thereby undermining the official [[Détente]] foreign policy of the West German federal government.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Margaret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zug8jlH9lowC&dq=strauss+renamo&pg=PA134|title=Confronting Leviathan: Mozambique Since Independence|last2=Young|first2=Tom|date=1997|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-85065-115-4|pages=134–136|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Vines|first=Alex|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9JyAAAAMAAJ&q=strauss|title=Renamo: From Terrorism to Democracy in Mozambique?|date=1996|publisher=Centre for Southern African Studies, University of York|isbn=978-0-85255-355-8|pages=41–42|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nesbitt|first=Prexy|date=1988|title=Terminators, Crusaders and Gladiators: Western (Private & Public) Support for Renamo & Unita|journal=Review of African Political Economy|issue=43|pages=111–124|doi=10.1080/03056248808703796|jstor=4005762|issn=0305-6244|doi-access=free}}</ref>

RENAMO conduct has frequently been described by western authors as amounting to [[terrorism]], especially since it usually involved attacks against defenseless civilians. The forcible recruitment of kidnapped villagers, including underage children, formed RENAMO's main modus operandi to increase its membership. This often included the murder of close relatives of the kidnapped persons, so that they had no way of returning to their communities.The organisation also engaged in brutal publicly staged ritual killings of perceived traitors and dissidents.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vines|first=Alex|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PxyAAAAMAAJ&q=children|title=Renamo: Terrorism in Mozambique|date=1991|publisher=Centre for Southern African Studies, University of York|isbn=978-0-253-36253-7|pages=90|language=en}}</ref><ref>Minter, William. ''The Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) as described by ex-participants''. Georgetown University, 1989.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Murphy|first=Caryle|date=1988-04-20|title=MOZAMBICAN REFUGEES DETAIL REIGN OF TERROR BY RENAMO|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/04/20/mozambican-refugees-detail-reign-of-terror-by-renamo/f4eb7d49-85de-4b21-a8fb-da66588b61b3/|access-date=2021-11-23|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

== Renewed clashes ==
{{main|RENAMO insurgency (2013–2019)}}

In October 2012, RENAMO's headquarters were relocated near Casa Banana (also named Sathunjira, RENAMO's former guerrilla base in the 1980s) in [[Gorongosa]], where a training camp was set up for around 800 partially armed followers. Previously, the headquarters had been moved from [[Maputo]] to [[Nampula]] in 2009.<ref>[http://www.southerntimesafrica.com/news_article.php?id=7690&title=Dhlakama%20back%20in%20the%20bush "Dhlakama back in the bush"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215184608/http://www.southerntimesafrica.com/news_article.php?id=7690&title=Dhlakama%20back%20in%20the%20bush |date=15 February 2015 }} ''Southerntimesafrica.com'', 29 October 2012</ref> RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama threatened to "destroy the country" if his political demands were not met.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/201211150280.html "Mozambique: Dhlakama Threatens to Destroy the Country"] ''[[All Africa]]'' (Agência de Informação de Moçambique), 14 November 2012</ref>

On 4 April 2013, one woman and four police officers were killed, with ten policemen more injured in a RENAMO attack on a police station in the town of [[Muxengue]]. The leader of the attackers was also killed.<ref>[http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Five-killed-in-Mozambique-clashes-20130404 "Five killed in Mozambique clashes"] [[News24 (website)|''News 24'']], 4 April 2013</ref> RENAMO's security chief stated that the action was a response to previous police raids on RENAMO gatherings. Around 300 RENAMO members had remained armed since the 1992 peace deal, despite efforts to integrate them into the [[Military of Mozambique|army]] or police.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22031922 "Mozambican ex-rebels Renamo in police clash"] [[BBC]], 4 April 2013</ref>

On 6 April 2013, two or three civilians were killed and two women were injured when alleged RENAMO militiamen attacked a truck and a bus in [[Chibabava District]].<ref>[http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/ec2b4f804f2c00379d619f1e5d06aea0/Renamo-attack-civilians-in-Intercape-bus-20130407 "Renamo attack civilians in Intercape bus"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022013536/http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/ec2b4f804f2c00379d619f1e5d06aea0/Renamo-attack-civilians-in-Intercape-bus-20130407 |date=22 October 2013 }} ''[[SABC]]'' (SAPA-AFP), 7 April 2013</ref> RENAMO denied being involved in the attack.<ref>[http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Mozambique-bus-attack-controversy-20130407 "Mozambique bus attack controversy"] ''News 24'', 7 April 2013</ref>

On 21 June, suspected RENAMO guerrillas attacked a bus in [[Machanga]], [[Sofala Province]], injuring an elderly woman. The incident happened two days after RENAMO threatened to paralyse key roads and the only [[coal]] export train to force the FRELIMO government to renegotiate peace terms.<ref>{{cite news|title=Suspected Renamo rebels attack bus in Mozambique|url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2013/06/21/suspected-renamo-rebels-attack-bus-in-mozambique|publisher=[[The Times (South Africa)|The Times]] (Reuters)|date=21 June 2013|access-date=21 October 2013}}</ref>

On 17 October, suspected RENAMO guerrillas ambushed a military patrol near [[Gorongosa]], RENAMO's stronghold, killing seven soldiers, according to local media.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mozambique-guerrillas-idUSBRE99G0UG20131017 "Renamo rebels kill seven Mozambique soldiers": local media] ''[[Reuters]]'', 17 October 2013</ref> On 18 October, another clash between [[Military of Mozambique|Mozambican Armed Forces]] (FADM) and RENAMO militiamen took place in Mucodza, seven kilometres away from Gorongosa. National director of defence policy in the Ministry of Defence, [[Colonel]] Cristovao Chume, claimed that the soldiers suffered no losses and that a RENAMO fighter was injured and captured by their forces. RENAMO leader Dhlakama claimed that no RENAMO fighters were killed on the attack, which, according to him, was started by the Army, and that the casualties had been suffered by the FADM. However, reporters confirmed that the bodies of two RENAMO fighters were in the local morgue of Gorongosa.<ref>[http://www.thezimbabwean.co/news/africa/68949/mozambique-two-renamo-members-killed.html "Mozambique: Two RENAMO members killed in Sofala clash"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20131021225313/http://www.thezimbabwean.co/news/africa/68949/mozambique-two-renamo-members-killed.html |date=21 October 2013 }} ''Thezimbabwean.co'', 19 October 2013</ref>

On 21 October, FADM forces captured Sathunjira base after several days of combat. RENAMO spokesman Fernando Mazanga claimed that the government forces had shelled the base with heavy weapons (artillery), and that Afonso Dhlakama had fled the base. A RENAMO statement said that the capture of the base puts an end to the 1992 peace deal.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24615549 "Mozambique 20-year peace deal 'ends after base raided'"] BBC, 21 October 2013</ref> RENAMO announced that MP [[Armindo Milaco]] was killed in the government raid. On 22 October, gunmen attacked a police station in [[Maringué District]] in apparent retaliation, with no casualties reported.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/201310301620.html "Mozambique Army Overruns Second Rebel Base"] ''Allafrica.com'' (''[[Cameroon Tribune]]''), 30 October 2013</ref>

On 26 October, alleged RENAMO fighters attacked civilian vehicles in the main north–south highway near [[Beira, Mozambique|Beira]], killing one and injuring 10 people. RENAMO denied its implication in the attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/10/mozambican-rebel-group-denies-attack-2013102795429330980.html|title=Mozambican rebel group denies attack|access-date=28 December 2014}}</ref>

=== 2014 peace process ===
On 5 September 2014 Dhlakama and president Guebuza signed a peace deal in an effort to end the two-year period of instability. The deal included integration of RENAMO forces into the army and a reform of the election oversight commission.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c3dee47e-350c-11e4-aa47-00144feabdc0|title=Renamo leader signs peace deal with Mozambique government|newspaper=Financial Times|date=5 September 2014|access-date=24 April 2017|last1=England|first1=Andrew}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/09/mozambique-government-renamo-sign-truce-201495111325375814.html|title=Mozambique rivals sign peace deal|access-date=24 April 2017}}</ref> However, after RENAMO's refusal to accept the 2014 presidential elections, problems in the implementation of the peace deal and after continued efforts by government forces to disarm RENAMO met resistance, Dhlakama broke off the peace process in August 2015. Since then there have been renewed clashes between government and RENAMO forces. Dhlakama claims there have been two attempts by the government to assassinate him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Mozambique-forces-in-deadly-clashes-with-Renamo-police-20151103|title=Mozambique forces in deadly clashes with Renamo – police|access-date=24 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201512230076.html|title=Mozambique: Renamo Wants Zuma to Mediate|date=23 December 2015|access-date=24 April 2017|via=AllAfrica}}</ref>

=== 2017 truce ===
In May 2017, RENAMO agreed to extend their truce indefinitely.<ref name="voanewsmozambiquerebelmovement">{{cite news|title=Mozambique Rebel Movement Renamo Extends Truce Indefinitely|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/mozambique-rebel-movement-renamo-extends-truce-indefinitely/3838230.html|access-date=5 May 2017|work=Voice of America|date=4 May 2017}}</ref>

== Death of Dhlakama and its impact ==
On 3 May 2018, [[Afonso Dhlakama]], who led RENAMO since 1979, died in Gorongosa after suffering a heart attack.<ref name=dhlakmagone>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/5/4/mozambiques-opposition-leader-afonso-dhlakama-dies-aged-65|title=Mozambique's opposition leader dies aged 65|publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref> An unnamed official in RENAMO acknowledged this and also stated that Dhlakma had been ill prior to his death.<ref name=dhlakmagone /> Regarding the future of RENAMO following Dhlakma's death, Ed Hobey Hamsher, an analyst with Maplecroft, stated that "no potential successor has Dhlakama's stature" and that anybody who succeeds him "will struggle to unify Renamo's factions."<ref name=dhlakmagoneagain>{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180509-renamo-leaders-death-game-changer-mozambique-peace-process|title=Renamo leader's death a 'game changer' for Mozambique peace process|date=9 May 2018|website=France 24}}</ref> At the time of Dhlakma's death, the RENAMO Congress was unable to fix a date to vote on a successor.<ref name=dhlakmagoneagain /> The next month on 14 June 2018, Ossufo Momade, who was picked to serve as the interim leader of RENAMO until the organization's Congress could vote on a permanent successor to Dhlakma,<ref name=dhlakmagoneagain /> went into hiding.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/opposition-mdc-is-zimbabwes-renamo-claims-war-vets-leader-report-20180614|title=Opposition MDC 'is Zimbabwe's Renamo', claims war vets leader – report|work=News24|access-date=2019-01-10|language=en}}</ref>

==Peace deal reached between RENAMO and Mozambique government==
On 1 August 2019, Mozambique President [[Filipe Nyusi]] and RENAMO leader [[Ossufo Momade]] signed a peace agreement bringing an end to the six-year period of armed clashes.<ref name=endofconflict>{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190801-mozambique-ceasefire-peace-renamo-civil-war|title=Mozambique's former civil war foes sign landmark peace deal|date=1 August 2019|website=France 24}}</ref><ref name=aljazeeraconflictend /> They also shook hands and embraced each other as well.<ref name=aljazeeraconflictend>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/8/1/mozambique-president-renamo-leader-sign-peace-deal|title=Mozambique president, Renamo leader sign peace deal|publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref> The signing of the peace took place at RENAMO's remote military base in the Gorongosa mountains.<ref name=aljazeeraconflictend /> After the agreement was signed, the last remaining RENAMO fighters surrendered their weapons. Momade told the [[Associated Press]] "We will no longer commit the mistakes of the past."<ref name=voaconflictend /> He also stated "We are for a humanized and dignified reintegration and we want the international community to help make that a reality."<ref name=voaconflictend /> During another signing which took in Maputo's peace square, Momade declared the group would focus to "maintain peace and national reconciliation."<ref name=secondsigning />

== Election results ==
=== Presidential elections ===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!Party candidate
!Votes
!'''%'''
!Result
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 1994|1994]]
| rowspan="5" |[[Afonso Dhlakama]]
|1,666,965
|33.73%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 1999|1999]]
|2,134,255
|47.70%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 2004|2004]]
|998,059
|31.74%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 2009|2009]]
|650,679
|16.41%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 2014|2014]]
|1,783,382
|36.61%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[2019 Mozambican general election|2019]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Ossufo Momade]]
|1,356,786
|21.84%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[2024 Mozambican general election|2024]]
|448,738
|6.62%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|}

=== Assembly elections ===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!Party leader
!Votes
!'''%'''
!Seats
!+/−
!Position
!Result
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 1994|1994]]
| rowspan="5" |[[Afonso Dhlakama]]
|1,803,506
|37.78%
|{{Composition bar|112|250|hex=#113077}}
|{{increase}} 112
|{{increase}} 2nd
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 1999|1999]]
|1,604,470
|38.79%
|{{Composition bar|117|250|hex=#113077}}
|{{increase}} 5
|{{steady}} 2nd
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 2004|2004]]
|905,289
|29.73%
|{{Composition bar|90|250|hex=#113077}}
|{{decrease}} 27
|{{steady}} 2nd
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 2009|2009]]
|688,782
|17.69%
|{{Composition bar|51|250|hex=#113077}}
|{{decrease}} 39
|{{steady}} 2nd
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
|-
![[Mozambican general election, 2014|2014]]
|1,495,137
|32.46%
|{{Composition bar|89|250|hex=#113077}}
|{{increase}} 38
|{{steady}} 2nd
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
|-
![[2019 Mozambican general election|2019]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Ossufo Momade]]
|1,351,659
|22.28%
|{{Composition bar|60|250|hex=#113077}}
|{{decrease}} 29
|{{steady}} 2nd
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
|-
![[2024 Mozambican general election|2024]]
|557,724
|8.11%
|{{Composition bar|28|250|hex=#113077}}
|{{decrease}} 32
|{{decrease}} 3rd
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
|}

== Former RENAMO flags ==
<gallery>
File:Flag of RENAMO.svg|First flag of RENAMO
File:Flag of RENAMO (Variant).svg|Second flag of RENAMO
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Heads of the National Resistance Government of Mozambique]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
*{{cite book |last= Cabrita |first= João M. |title= Mozambique: The Tortuous Road to Democracy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0lCGDAAAQBAJ |date= 2000 |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |location= London |isbn= 978-1-349-42432-0 }}
*{{cite book |last= Emerson |first= Stephen A. |title= The Battle for Mozambique: The Frelimo–Renamo Struggle, 1977–1992 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=AKlZBAAAQBAJ |date= 2014 |publisher= Helion & Company, 30° South Publishers |location= [[Solihull]], [[Pinetown]] |isbn= 978-1-909384-92-7 }}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Wiegink |first1=Nikkie |title=Former Guerrillas in Mozambique |date=2020 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-5205-7 |language=en}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{official|http://www.renamo.org.mz/ }}
*[http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/2218.pdf Special Report on Mozambique 2004 Elections by the Carter Center]
*[http://www.kas.de/upload/auslandshomepages/election-moza_final-report.pdf Final Report of the European Union Election Observation Mission]
*[http://www.kas.de/upload/dokumente/attv0kxy.pdf Main RENAMO Policy Guidelines 2004 (pdf)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130124184220/http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552625 Mozambique-US Relations during Cold War] from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120312184049/http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/549457 Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives]
{{Mozambican political parties}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renamo}}
[[Category:RENAMO]]
[[Category:Anti-communist organizations]]
[[Category:Law enforcement in Rhodesia]]
[[Category:Military history of Mozambique]]
[[Category:Political parties in Mozambique]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1977]]
[[Category:Anti-communist parties]]
[[Category:National conservative parties]]