Mozambique: True Strength of Constitution Is Measured By Its Capacity to Transform Lives - Chapo

What the report says

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said the real test of a constitution is whether it improves people’s daily lives and allows rights on paper to be exercised in practice. He made the remarks in Maputo at the opening of an international seminar on constitutional justice and the rule of law, held with the Constitutional Council of Mozambique and the Global Commission on the Rule of Law of the European Public Law Organization.

According to the report carried by Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique and distributed by AllAfrica, Chapo argued that constitutional guarantees should reach poor communities, rural residents, women, youth, children, older people and people with disabilities. He also said the justice system must be accessible, timely, impartial and close to citizens, and that no one is above the constitution.

The president’s comments framed state performance around concrete results rather than speeches or plans. The seminar also featured Andreas Mavroyiannis, chair of EPLO’s Global Commission on the Rule of Law, who said Africa should play a more active role in shaping global discussions on law and constitutionalism rather than being treated only as a subject of study.

The exchange highlights wider debates in Africa about how constitutions and courts can be made more effective in practice. More broadly, it reflects ongoing questions about rule of law, institutional trust and access to justice, especially in countries where formal legal protections do not always translate into everyday protection for citizens.