Mozambique: Government ‘respects’ ruling striking down telecom traffic control regulations – minister

“We proceed on the basis that we are a democratic country, where democracy prevails. We respect our institutions and, therefore, we respect the decision of the Constitutional Council,” Américo Muchanga told journalists on the sidelines of an official event in Maputo. Lusa reported on Friday that the Constitutional Council declared several provisions of the telecommunications traffic control regulations unconstitutional, concluding that the Government had overstepped the powers of the Assembly of the Republic by creating restrictions on fundamental rights without parliamentary legislative authority.

The decision is contained in Ruling No. 6/CC/2026 of 29 July, following an abstract constitutional review request submitted by the Ombudsman, who challenged several provisions of the Telecommunications Traffic Control Regulations, approved under Decree No. 48/2025 of 16 December.

READ:Mozambique: Constitutional Council strikes down telecoms traffic control regulations as unconstitutional Under the regulations, which prompted strong public criticism, the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM) was granted the authority to block telecommunications in the event of an “imminent risk to public security” or State security. “In cases where there is an imminent risk to public security, State security, the security of persons and property, or a threat to service availability caused by adverse situations and/or criminal acts, the regulatory authority may, by judicial order, issue instructions for the partial or total blocking of telecommunications,” Decree No. The constitutional challenge argued that the regulations established a regime for monitoring, data collection, suspension of services and intervention in telecommunications networks that affected constitutionally protected fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and information, the right to privacy and the inviolability of communications.

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The Constitutional Council concluded that the Telecommunications Law, cited by the Government as the legal basis for the regulations, did not authorise the creation of a permanent communications surveillance system because it “contains no provision authorising the structural and permanent surveillance of communications”. The judges held that the Government had exceeded the regulatory powers granted to it under the Constitution by legislating in an area reserved exclusively for Parliament. “It is evident that the author of the decree established a regulatory regime for monitoring, data collection, suspension of services and intervention in networks that constitutes substantial restrictions on fundamental rights, namely freedom of expression and information (Article 48), the right to privacy (Article 68) and the inviolability of communications (Article 68),” the ruling states. The Constitutional Council stressed that restrictions on fundamental rights may only be imposed through legislation approved by the Assembly of the Republic, not through executive regulations.

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