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Military Reform – 1994

“On Aug. 24 President Joaquim Chissano, who had himself been demobilized as a general in the FPLM on Aug. 12, reported that the new FADM would have only 11,000 of its intended 30,000 members operational by the elections in October.”¹

On December 20, 1994 it was reported by the Mozambique Information Agency (AIM) that the new Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (FADM) had trampled on the existing laws of the country and the constitution of the republic by establishing a new military judicial system.

A source cited by AIM said that the new system was a copy of the military judicial structures in force in Portugal. The new system consisted of a Supreme Military Tribunal, to which three regional military tribunals were seconded. The regional tribunals were based in Maputo, Beira, and Nampula and served southern, central, and northern Mozambique.²

However, Supreme Court Deputy Chairman Norberto Carrilho had described the system as being in serious violation of the constitution and existing laws. The senior Supreme Court official had warned that a declaration that the system was unconstitutional might be approved unless its authors revoked it.³

1. “Formation of new army,” Keesing’s Record of World Events (Volume 40), August 1994, 40127.
2. “Mozambique: Agency Reports New Military Judicial System Established,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, December 21, 1994.
3. “Mozambique: Supreme Court Official Describes Military Court System as ‘Unconstitutional’,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, December 29, 1994.