Now Reading
Post-Election Tension: Lawyers Demand Investigation and Punishment of Attackers on Venâncio Mondlane Supporter

Post-Election Tension: Lawyers Demand Investigation and Punishment of Attackers on Venâncio Mondlane Supporter

The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) has called for clarification and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of the attack on Joel Amaral, a supporter of politician Venâncio Mondlane, arguing that the attack represents an expression of “violence and intolerance.”

“More than condemning this frustrated murder, not least because similar examples abound in our society, we must seek to clarify the motivations and find the moral and material perpetrators and, in this endeavour, set an example of punishment,” the organization said in a statement.

In the document, the lawyers called for an investigation to combat the “clandestine networks” that attacked Mondlane’s supporter, saying that they aim to sacrifice individual and collective freedoms and rights, representing a form of “violence, intolerance and oppression.”

“Even before ideologies, we are human and we must preserve this condition. It is repugnant to think of murdering another fellow human being because they think differently. Reconciliation is not made possible by using an exam correction pen, but by tolerance,” he said.

Joel Amaral

For their part, the Mozambican political parties with parliamentary seats also considered the attack to be “political intolerance” that calls into question the “pillars of democracy”, and called for a police investigation to clarify the case.

The head of state, Daniel Chapo, also sent a message of repudiation and solidarity following the shooting of Joel Amaral, wishing the victim a speedy and full recovery, and extending his solidarity to his family, friends and colleagues.

Venâncio Mondlane issued a stern warning to the government following the attack on one of his supporters. The politician threatened to call for demonstrations “a hundred times worse” than those registered after the general elections, if what he calls “political persecution” against his supporters continues.

“We’re expecting another injury or death. What you have seen so far will be a hundred times worse,” Mondlane said, accusing the authorities of silencing dissenting voices. The politician held the government directly responsible for the escalation of violence and warned the Mozambican President that this would be the “last chance” to stop the cycle of repression.

Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe

Joel Amaral, musician and author of songs that mobilized Mondlane’s supporters in the election campaigns for the local councils (2023), and then for the presidential elections (2024), was shot this Sunday (13), in the Cualane 2 neighborhood, in the city of Quelimane, Zambezia province, in central Mozambique. According to hospital sources, the injury did not result in the penetration of a projectile, and deep surgical cleaning was carried out. Amaral is in intensive care and is showing signs of recovery.

The attack comes at a time when the government and political parties are engaged in debates to restore order and tranquillity in the country. In 2024, shortly after the general elections, Venâncio Mondlane’s legal advisor, the well-known lawyer Elvino Dias, and the representative of Podemos, Paulo Cuambe, the party supporting his presidential candidacy, were murdered in an ambush on the car they were traveling in in the center of Maputo.

Following these events, the former presidential candidate called for protests which, in five months, led to 390 deaths in clashes with the police, according to data from civil society organizations, and also degenerated into looting and the destruction of businesses and public infrastructure.

On March 23, Venâncio Mondlane and Daniel Chapo met for the first time and a commitment was made to stop the violence in the country.

See Also

SUBSCRIBE TO GET OUR NEWSLETTERS:

SUBSCRIBE TO GET OUR NEWSLETTERS:

Scroll To Top

We have detected that you are using AdBlock Plus or other adblocking software which is causing you to not be able to view 360 Mozambique in its entirety.

Please add www.360mozambique.com to your adblocker’s whitelist or disable it by refreshing afterwards so you can view the site.