The Mozambican capital woke up today with little movement on the first day of the new phase of demonstrations called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane. However, throughout the morning, shops began to open, and transport was running normally.
In a tour of all the capital’s neighbourhoods carried out by Lusa this morning, no demonstrations were recorded, and practically all of those from previous days led to police intervention, who fired shots and threw tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
While there was little movement at the beginning of the morning, shortly afterwards, in a scenario of near normality in the capital, the few shops that decided not to open gradually began to open, bringing the usual bustle of people and traffic to the city.
Transport is also operating normally, but there are visible police and military reinforcements in various neighbourhoods, albeit fewer than in previous days.
Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane has called for a new period of national demonstrations in Mozambique for three days, starting today, in all the provincial capitals, including Maputo, challenging the electoral process.
‘We’re going to demonstrate at the borders, in the ports and the provincial capitals (…). We’re going to paralyse all activities so they realise that the people are tired,’ Venâncio Mondlane called on Monday regarding the “fourth stage” of protest against the general election process on 9 October.
He called for the protest to be extended to the country’s ports and borders and the transport corridors linking these infrastructures, appealing for lorry drivers to join in: ‘We’re not forcing anyone to join the demonstration. We’ll pass on the values of the demonstration and whoever wants to join in.’
The general commander of the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, said on Tuesday that the demonstrations and stoppages must be ‘stopped’, saying that they are ‘urban terrorism’ with the intention of ‘altering the constitutional order’.
‘It is urgent to say enough is enough to the violent demonstrations that tend to sabotage the great undertakings that the country conquered during independence and that are the hope of the next generation,’ said Bernardino Rafael.
On Tuesday, Mozambican businesspeople estimated that 24.8 billion meticais (354 million euros) had been lost during ten days of stoppages and demonstrations called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, with 151 business units vandalised.
‘With these demonstrations accompanied by the paralyses of economic activity, we found that the trade, logistics and transport sectors were the most affected, and the total losses and impact on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) totalled 24.8 billion meticais (€354 million), which is about 2.2% of our GDP,’ said the president of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), Agostinho Vuma.
The Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) has already opened 208 criminal cases to hold responsible the ‘moral and material’ perpetrators of the violence in the post-election demonstrations, the Attorney General’s Office also announced on Tuesday. The office holds presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane responsible.
The Attorney General’s Office said that within the ‘scope of its constitutional and legal competences’, the Public Prosecutor’s Office ‘has been initiating legal proceedings, intending to hold criminally responsible’ the ‘moral and material’ perpetrators and ‘accomplices of these acts’.
‘So far, 208 criminal cases have been launched, investigating murder, bodily harm, damage, incitement to collective disobedience, as well as conspiracy to commit a crime against the security of the state and violent alteration of the rule of law,’ it said.
Mozambique, and above all Maputo, the capital, have experienced stoppages of activities and demonstrations called since 21 October by Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the results of the general elections announced by the National Electoral Commission, which give victory to Daniel Chapo and the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the ruling party).
Lusa
