Two Mozambican Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have counted at least nine deaths in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia in clashes with the police in the context of the post-election protests that have been taking place since Thursday.
According to the latest human rights bulletin from the CDD – Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, ‘in recent days, the city and province of Nampula’, in the north of the country, ‘have become the scene of alarming and brutal repression, with signs of worsening in practically all of its 23 districts’.
‘In the midst of this escalation of violence, Nampula Central Hospital has become a scene of mourning and despair. Health professionals report exhaustion and deep shock at the growing number of serious cases,’ reads the bulletin, which points to the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and real bullets to disperse demonstrators by the police.
It adds that the hospital ‘has already received more than 30 people with serious injuries, including 28 gunshot victims from Namialo, Meconta district,’ and that ‘seven deaths have already been confirmed’ in the province.
This wave of violence comes during the seven-day strike and demonstrations called for across the country since 31 October by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane.
The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican non-governmental organisation that monitors electoral processes, reports two deaths in Zambézia province in clashes with the police in its most recent election bulletin.
In this case, it is reported that demonstrators marched in Pebane, in that province in the centre of the country, and ‘vandalised’ the headquarters of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, in power), which led to the intervention of the police, who also injured six people.
‘The two dead are young people aged 14 and 17,’ reads the document, which also points to the vandalisation of other Frelimo headquarters and the homes of police officers.
On Thursday, the general commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, Bernardino Rafael, said that so far the force had been called to intervene in 58 demonstrations, 38 of which were violent, with 36 officers receiving hospital treatment.
‘We have all witnessed these violent demonstrations. Cars have been burnt, tyres on the roads, state institutions and commercial establishments have been vandalised and even the premises where the police work have been vandalised,’ lamented Bernardino Rafael.
Frelimo leader Celso Correia, who is also the Minister of Agriculture, said on Saturday that the right to protest must be reconciled with other fundamental rights, given the post-election demonstrations in the country.
‘Frelimo defends the principle of peace and peaceful values. We are against violence of any kind. We believe that the rights of all citizens must be safeguarded, both the right to protest and also the right to life, to free movement,’ he said.
He guaranteed that Frelimo wants the electoral process to take place ‘as transparently as possible’ and ‘for the work of the institutions to be valued in a transparent and credible way’.
‘To also convince the group of Mozambicans who still don’t have confidence in the results. It’s very important that the tabulation process can be as transparent as possible so that we can have social peace, which is very important for building Mozambique,’ he said.
On 24 October, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) announced the victory of Daniel Chapo, supported by Frelimo, the party in power since 1975, in the election for Mozambican President on 9 October, with 70.67% of the vote.
Venâncio Mondlane, supported by the non-parliamentary Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), came second with 20.32%, but said he did not recognise these results, which still have to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council.
Venâncio Mondlane called for a general strike and week-long demonstrations in Mozambique, starting on 31 October, and marches in Maputo on 7 November.
He called this the third stage of the protest against the election results, following the protests on 21, 24 and 25 October, which led to clashes with the police, resulting in at least 10 deaths, dozens of injuries and 500 detainees, according to CIP.
Lusa
