Mozambique’s government said on Tuesday that the authorities would assess whether there were any excesses in the actions of the police forces on Monday against demonstrators in Maputo, classifying the episodes as “illegal gatherings” that were the result of a “political expedient”.
“If there have been any excesses in the actions of the Defence and Security Forces, this is a matter that is still being analysed and studied by the Defence and Security Forces (…), first to confirm whether real bullets have actually been [fired],” declared Filimão Suaze, cabinet spokesman, moments after another meeting of the body in Maputo.
On Monday, Mozambican police cracked down on demonstrations called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane against alleged electoral fraud and the murder of two of his supporters, including his lawyer, Elvino Dias.
Mondlane’s supporters took the protests to various neighbourhoods, in the city centre and the suburbs, such as Polana Caniço, Xiquelene and Maxaquene, where the police fired shots and threw tear gas to disperse any gatherings.
According to Mozambique’s government spokesman, the demonstrations called by Mondlane are “illegal”, accusing the presidential candidate of having “instrumentalised children” to “achieve unconcealed objectives”.
“I would like to take this opportunity to warn our people, particularly our young people, to remain calm and serene. The results [of the elections] will be announced on Thursday (…). He emphasised that any demonstration called for this purpose should be considered illegal and not be attended.
For most of the day on Monday, the police fired tear gas and shots into the air to demobilise any group of demonstrators, who in turn responded by throwing stones and burning tyres.
More than a dozen people were injured, including at least three journalists.
The international community condemned the police response to the demonstrations, and several calls for restraint were made from both sides, namely Portugal, the European Union, and the African Union.
The Mozambican capital returned to normality today, with transport running and traffic queues in the city’s main streets, with visible police reinforcements following the violent clashes of the previous day.
Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane today called for two more days of national “peaceful” stoppages and demonstrations in Mozambique starting on Thursday, the day before the National Electoral Commission (CNE) announces the results of the general elections.
