Betwixt and Between: 'Traditional Authority' and Democratic Decentralization in Post-War Mozambique

The end of civil war in Mozambique has been accompanied by democratization of political processes, as exemplified by the 1994 multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections. Under the rubric of democratization, the issue of state decentralization has also been raised. Current political debates focus on what role ‘traditional authority’ might play in local governance. Advocates argue that ‘traditional authority’ constitutes a genuinely African form of local governance, while detractors suggest that these institutions were irrevocably corrupted by their involvement with the colonial administration. This article challenges not only the black-and-white framework in which the present-day ‘legitimacy’ of ‘traditional authority’ has been debated, but also questions the value of the term ‘traditional authority’ itself. The article explores the diverse histories of kin-based political institutions in Mozambique, arguing that the meaning and function of ‘traditional authority’ has been transformed many times over with changes in the larger political contexts in which local institutions have existed. As a result of historical events, the issue of ‘traditional authority’ is, today, intimately bound up with the divide between the ruling FRELIMO party and the opposition, RENAMO. Only by approaching the issue of ‘traditional authority’ through an understanding of its variegated and contentious history will policy-makers and Mozambican residents alike be able to transcend existing political divides on issues of local governance.