The health authorities said on Monday 14 April that Joel Amaral, a supporter of former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, is in ‘intensive care and doing well’ after being shot in the city of Quelimane, Zambézia province, in central Mozambique.
‘He is currently in intensive care and is progressing well, conscious and communicative. He has already been visited by his family and we are awaiting his clinical evolution,’ said Palmira Nascimento, spokesperson for the Quelimane Central Hospital (HCQ), where the politician and Mondlane collaborator is hospitalised.
She confirmed that the victim had an injury to his scalp after being shot, but hospital tests showed that the bullet did not reach his skull bone. ‘The injury was simply at the level of the scalp. He was taken to the operating theatre where a thorough cleaning was carried out and no bullet was found.’
Venâncio Mondlane arrived in Quelimane on Monday to visit the victim. Joel Amaral, a musician and author of songs that mobilised Mondlane’s supporters in the municipal (2023) and then presidential (2024) election campaigns, was shot in the Cualane 2 neighbourhood on Sunday 13 April.
“He is currently in intensive care doing well, conscious and communicative.He has already been visited by his family and we await his clinical evolution.”
On his official Facebook page, Mondlane said that the attack on Joel Amaral was a sign of persecution of his supporters and any citizen who exercises their right to free expression, and that the situation must end.
‘It’s time to unite against violence and oppression, and to demand a Mozambique where everyone can live in safety and dignity. The struggle for justice and peace is the responsibility of all of us, and we cannot allow fear and intolerance to prevail. May this sad episode serve as a call to action for everyone, so that together we can build a more just and peaceful future for our nation,’ he said.
Faced with the situation, head of state Daniel Chapo 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.
Joel Amaral
‘We received the news of the shooting with deep concern. This act of gratuitous violence is not only an attack on a citizen who contributes his knowledge and dedication to our country, but also an affront to democracy and the principles of the rule of law, which we must all protect,’ he declared.
The attack comes at a time when the government and political parties are engaged in debates to restore order and tranquillity to the country. In 2024, shortly after the general elections, Venâncio Mondlane’s legal advisor, the well-known lawyer Elvino Dias, and the head of Podemos, Paulo Cuambe, the party supporting his presidential candidacy, were murdered in an ambush on the car they were travelling in in the centre 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 organisations, as well as looting and the destruction of businesses and public infrastructure.
On 23 March, Venâncio Mondlane and Daniel Chapo met for the first time and a commitment was made to stop the violence in the country.
