The categorical imperative

Chijioke Obinna

The categorical imperative

The editor-in-chief of this magazine, Javier Fariñas, wrote to me to ask for an article that would be published this January. I was thinking about it without being sure what I was going to write. The circumstances that my country, Mozambique, is experiencing since the general elections last October are not at all encouraging, but extremely challenging, a concept that has never made more sense to me.

I confess that when the demonstrations began I was elated by the fact that young people had taken to the streets in different parts of the country, although with greater intensity in the capital. It was understood that the movement of citizens would be more intense in the capital as it was the center of power, where the political powers, the executive and the legislative, met and even confused.

This euphoria was widespread. It was the moment of citizenship, a liberating, (un)expected moment, where the indignation repressed for years, the accumulated frustration and the stifled revolts were represented in the caceroladas, in the vuvuzelas and in the nightly boos. The hibernating resistance was awakened. Tear gas was no longer enough. The bullets fired by the military, police and special agents, lodged in the bloody bodies, created a revolt that would no longer be repressed. The order of Venâncio Mondlane, who leads this movement, was to remain on public roads to resist. The people complied and took them. Power moved to the streets and the country is being managed from there.

You must be wondering: what about the Government? Everything he wrote would be nothing more than conjectures resulting from reading the silence that the other two powers echo.

Meanwhile, “occasion makes the thief.” These moments always become very sensitive, very vulnerable and present multiple overlapping interests. What’s more, the most media trial in this country demonstrated that these interests are what determine the direction the nation follows.

Euphoria has been replaced by concern after the inability to foresee a way out. It’s curious, because that is the situation that many of our young people are experiencing. In the viral videos, the initial slogan, which encouraged resistance, has been replaced by messages that allude to oppression (for those who do not obey the mandate of the day), intolerance, looting and destruction. There are those who legitimize these acts as a consequence of that condition, claiming that it is necessary to analyze the causal link.

But wasn’t that what outraged us? Weren’t the lack of freedom to think and express a different opinion, looting and destruction what we wanted to combat? If we want changes, why repeat the acts of what we consider to be the oppressor? Has he made “the opportunity” for his “thief”? I don’t know, but in history there are many examples of countries that after entering into a civil war, spontaneously or created, were unable to rebuild.
I have returned to my country after a few days in Paris. While I was there, Catarina Falcão interviewed me for RFI and asked me how this would all end. I still don’t know how. In these five decades we have had conflicts in Mozambique that required a reconciliation process that has been postponed. Among countries that have gone through civil war, there are those that were able to rebuild and move forward as one people through a process of reconciliation. Although I still have no idea what it will be like in our case, I am convinced that reconciliation is a categorical imperative.

In the image above, protesters gather next to a burning barricade in Maputo on December 23, 2024. Photograph: Amilton Neves /Getty

Chijioke Obinna

I've been passionate about storytelling and journalism since my early days growing up in Lagos. With a background in political science and years of experience in investigative reporting, I aim to bring nuanced perspectives to pressing global issues. Outside of writing, I enjoy exploring Nigeria’s vibrant cultural scene and mentoring young aspiring journalists.