Nikotina, the soundtrack of Mozambique's youth in protest

Popular Mozambique rapper Nikotina KF is rattled and stressed after facing police tear gas and rubber bullets just hours earlier but is determined to bring his voice to the youth-led protests running through his country.

On the streets and in music videos that get thousands of views on YouTube, the 32-year-old musician throws himself into the waves of demonstrations that have gripped Mozambique since the disputed October 9 elections.

"I don't think this is a political issue. It's a social issue," Nikotina told AFP on a busy street in Maputo's rundown Mafalala neighborhood, his face tired and drawn after that morning's protest dispersed by police.

Rights groups say security forces killed dozens of people in youth-led protests called by opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who rejects results showing he lost the presidential election to the Frelimo party that has governed for nearly 50 years.

"People already had the gunpowder; Venancio lit the fuse," said Nikotina, whose real name is Higino Fumo. "People realize that one group has a lot and another has very little. This creates social divides."

A protester wears a mask during a protest in Maputo on December 6, 2024. According to the civil society platform 'Plataforma Decide' (Decide Platform) at least 90 people have been killed during the ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces since protest started on October 21, 2024, a few days after two oppositions figures were killed following the Mozambican election on October 9, 2024.Photo by Amilton Neves / AFP

The southern African nation has ample resources, including newly discovered natural offshore gas, but according to the African Development Bank, more than 70 percent of its people live in poverty.

According to UN figures, around two-thirds of the 33 million-person population is under 25, and young people are most affected by unemployment or underemployment.

The despair of Mozambique's youth, for whom the election had held the promise of change, is the theme of Nikotina's latest collaboration, "Pray for Mozambique," which shows him selling loaves of bread in a humble market.

"You want to make a living, but you end up losing it when a policeman takes your peace away," he sings in Portuguese in the clip, which had nearly 100,000 views in the week after it was published in early December.

"I can die for everything, but I won't live for nothing," he sings.

At least to dream

"I'm not mobilizing young people because of Venancio," the rapper, who often wears his trademark baseball cap and a single earring, told AFP.

"I'm using my influence to promote the fundamental right to demonstrate that is in the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique."

He makes this point in "Artigo 51 Uma Aula De Direito" ("Article 51 A Lesson in Law").

"For me, the biggest problem young people face is a lack of hope. The government must create mechanisms for young people to at least dream."

His message and music inspire a massive following of fans, and he is regularly stopped in the street to sign autographs or take pictures.

An armored military vehicle stands next to a burning tyre during a demonstration against the government in Maputo on December 6, 2024. According to the civil society platform 'Plataforma Decide' (Decide Platform) at least 90 people have been killed during the ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces since protest started on October 21, 2024, a few days after two oppositions figures were killed following the Mozambican election on October 9, 2024. Photo by Amilton Neves / AFP

Zilton Macas, a 29-year-old barber in Maputo's Maxaquene neighborhood, which has become a demonstration hotspot, said that young people will not give up the protests as long as they do not hope for a better future.

"We young people really lack jobs," he said. "In the past 10 years, Mozambique has become a lion's den where only some people can survive."

Juvencia Bila, 43, graduated more than a dozen years ago with a degree in environmental management but has only found work selling fast food.

"You grow up being encouraged by your mum and dad to study for a better future. I went to school and even looked for a job from an early age, but it came to nothing," she said from her stall, her university graduation cap on her head.

Wilson Lobo, 24, ekes out a meager living as an agent for mobile wallet apps, a far cry from his plans for a better life that led him to leave his rural province of Zambezia.

"We want a different government to see if the country is poor or if it's the leaders who are making the country poor," he told AFP.

Power to the people

Nikotina said that using his profile to speak out in Mozambique's increasingly bitter standoff has led to threats against him and his family.

He committed to this mission after the death in March 2023 of his idol, Mano Azagaia, one of the most respected social justice rappers in Mozambique and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

In front of a mural of Azagaia, whose 2008 "Povo no Poder" ("People Power") has long been an anthem of anti-government protests in Mozambique, he raises a fist of solidarity.