Mozambique’s leader appoints Cabinet, featuring first female premier

(MENAFN) On Friday, Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo unveiled his 12-member Cabinet, appointing a woman as prime minister, according to a statement from the presidency.

Maria Benvinda Levi, 55, who served as justice minister from 2008 to 2015 and has a background as a judge, is now the country’s second female prime minister since gaining independence in 1975.

Chapo also selected experienced diplomat Maria dos Santos Lucas as the foreign minister and Carla Alexandra Loveira to oversee the finance portfolio. Cristóvao Chume retained his position as defense minister, a role he held in the previous administration under Filipe Nyusi.

The new ministers are scheduled to take their oaths of office during a ceremony on Saturday.

Chapo was sworn in on Wednesday after securing 65 percent of the vote in the October 9 elections. The results, however, were contested by opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, who received 20 percent, according to the Constitutional Council.

Mondlane called for protests, which escalated into violence. Rights organizations have accused law enforcement of using excessive force to suppress demonstrators. Since protests began on October 21, at least 308 fatalities have been reported by Plataforma Decide, an election monitoring group.

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