Mozambique's Violent Insurgency: Imagining a new social contract through transitional justice

Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province has been beset by a violent insurgency since attacks began in 2017. The response to the insurgency has primarily been a military one, with the Mozambican security forces, supported by troops from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), driving Al Shabaab out of its coastal strongholds and displacing it to new inland areas. However, this has done little to address the root causes of the conflict. This study explores community perspectives for framing a new social contract in Mozambique through the lens of transitional justice. It is based research conducted among civil society organisations (CSOs) and communities in three towns in Cabo Delgado, namely Montepuez, Mecufi and Pemba, from 5 to 9 June 2023. The paper analyses resulting themes that emerged from the consultations such as basic service delivery, security, dialogue, truth-telling, amnesties and accountability, Disarmament, Demobilisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR), and political and institutional reforms before concluding with policy recommendations to the Mozambican government and the international community.