Mozambique has joined a list of African countries that have used internet censorship to address political problems.

This is the first time Mozambique's government has tampered with the internet and the measure has been strongly critiqued by the media and human rights organisations.

According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Mozambique), Internet Outage Detection and Analysis verified that internet speed in Mozambique was reduced, particularly on Friday.

“After violating freedom of the press and expression through police violence, the Government is once again violating freedom of expression by limiting citizens from circulating and exchanging information through digital platforms, as well as limiting business operations and social life, on a day when many Mozambicans are carrying out their activities remotely due to violence in the streets,” MISA stated.

Reports indicated the connection was re-established on Saturday, but some citizens still complained the internet was inaccessible.

Human Rights Watch said it was unable to verify if this was a coincidence or a deliberate move by the authorities.

“In any case, it's important to remember that general shutdowns violate the rights to freedom of expression and information, and hinders the right to free assembly,” Zenaida Machado, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said.

Netblocks this past weekend reported that live metrics showed a disruption to mobile internet traffic in Mozambique.

Protests erupted in the Southern African country after Daniel Chapo, of the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, was declared the winner of the October 9 election.

His opponents allege the results, which gave him 71% of the vote, were inflated.