Mozambique: More Than 30 Demonstrators Shot Dead in Six Days

Police body count:

More than 30 demonstrators shot dead in six days 

In the last six days of demonstrations, police and other officials shot and killed more than 30 people. These murders are confirmed by our correspondents.

Yesterday (5 November) alone, on the sixth day of demonstrations, nine people were shot dead: three in Mocuba, five in Maputo and Matola cities, and one in Tete. One of the murders in Matola occurred in the neighbourhood of Matola-Gare, when the police killed a young man in his home. The youth was taken to hospital by his brother-in-law, and his death was confirmed at the Matola Gare health centre.

On the fourth and fifth days, 11 citizens were murdered by the police or official: three in Mocuba, Zambézia, three in Maputo city, three in Matola, one in Tete city, and one in Ressano Garcia. Customs and immigration agents at the Ressano Garcia frontier post killed one demonstrator, which unleashed a wave of destruction of buildings, attendance posts and several vehicles at the Ressano border post, closing the post (see below)

On the second and third day, police bullets killed six demonstrators in Nampula province: two in Nampula city; two in Namialo, Meconta distict; one in Mecuburi town; and one in Nametil, Mogovolas district.

On the first of the eight days of demonstrations, four demonstrators were killed, two in Maputo and two in Pebane, Zambézia. Those murdered in Pebane were two adolescents aged 14 and 17.

These are only deaths confirmed by police or hospitals. Some deaths by shooting are not declared by the health services; others who are in a serious condition and lose their lives days after they were shot are often not reported. And other people are missing. And there are unconfirmed reports of another five people murdered: three  shot dead in  Nampula, one in Patrice Lumumba neighbourhood of Matola, and another in Mocuba.

More than 50 people have been shot in recent days, and dozens have been detained.

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Destruction evident at closed border at Ressano Garcia

Some immigration officials say “there is no longer a border at Ressano Garcia”. Senior figures from immigration and customs went this morning (Wednesday) to the border to survey the damage caused and draw up a list of items needed to restore and re-open the frontier services. Some days will be need to restore all the equipment.

The destruction of the Ressano Garcia frontier building occurred after one demonstrator was shot by customs agents and members of the Frontier Guard. Other demonstrators then burnt all the vehicles of customs and immigration staff at their homes.

They then went to the building where the immigration services and the attendance posts function. They broke all the windows and destroyed and looted equipment such as computers and other goods used to issue visas and operate other frontier services. This made it impossible for the services to function. The immigration and customs agents fled to the South African side of the border in search of protection.

South African authorities warned their citizens not to attempt to cross the Ressano Garcia border.

Companies that transport minerals from South Africa to the port of Maputo are warning truck drivers to seek secure places to park their trucks because “cars and trucks are being set on fire”. “Keep your trucks far from Ressano Garcia”, they warned, “because the situation is not good”.

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Six march routes marked for Thursday

This poster shows that planed routes for marches Thursday, all ending at Praça da OMM near where Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe were gunned down on 18 October.

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Constitutional Council demands CNE explain discrepancies between numbers of voters in the results sheets

Yesterday (5 November), the Chair of the Constitutional Council (CC) gave 72 hours to the chair of the National Elections Commission (CNE), Bishop Carlos Matsinhe, to explain “the reasons for the discrepancies in the number of voters between the presidential, parliamentary and provincial assembly elections in the polling station minutes and results sheets” submitted to the CC.

This bulletin and the representatives of the opposition on the CNE had already noted the discrepancies between the number of voters in the three elections. https://bit.ly/Moz-El-323 In Inhambane the difference was 58,000 and Zambézia 55,000 people who voted for parliament but not president. These are believed to be stuffed ballots for Frelimo for parliament.

The opposition representatives also denounced that in some places more people voted than had registered as voters. The most flagrant case came from the diaspora. In one polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe, 750 people voted, but the voter roll in that station contained the names of only 595 registered voters.

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Five embassies call for respect for human rights

The embassies of Norway, the United States and Switzerland and the High Commissions of Canada and the United Kingdom on Tuesday issued a joint statement calling on “all those involved to contain their emotions” and to respect human life and the rule of law.

The embassies of the five countries declared their “support for the Mozambican people in the exercise of their rights, namely the right to peaceful assembly, to freedom of opinion and of expression, and the right to information.

They also urged the Constitutional Council to assess the validation of the election results “in a transparent manner and in accordance with its mandate”.

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Demonstrators destroy statue of Nyusi

Demonstrators have destroyed a statue of Filipe Nyusi, that was erected in a school in Campoane, in Boane district, Maputo province.

The head of the statue was separated from its body. The body was then dragged through the streets, beaten with clubs and stoned, in a sign of people’s anger.

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