Mozambique election crisis: Police accused of killing pot-banging protesters

The mourners at a cemetery in crisis-hit Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, had been strikingly younger – youngsters shedding tears as they bade farewell to a 16-year-old buddy, who was shot useless whereas banging pots and pans in an opposition-organised protest in opposition to the result of final month’s presidential election.

“Antonio was shot in the mouth, and the bullet went through the back of his head,” his uncle, Manuel Samuel, informed the BBC.

“We saw CCTV footage from nearby shops of police shooting at protesters,” he added.

Antonio Juaqim’s killing is a tragic reminder of the risky political local weather within the southern African state since Frelimo – the previous liberation motion in energy since independence 49 years in the past – was declared the winner of the ballot.

The electoral fee stated Frelimo’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, gained with a whopping 71% of the vote, in comparison with the 20% of his closest rival, Venâncio Mondlane.

An evangelical pastor who contested the presidency as an impartial after breaking away from the principle opposition Renamo celebration, Mondlane rejected the declaration, alleging the ballot was rigged.

This was denied by the electoral fee, however Mondlane – who fled the nation, fearing arrest – has rallied his supporters by way of social media to protest in opposition to the consequence.

Every night time at 21:00 native time (19:00 GMT), individuals have been banging pots and pans of their properties, as they heed Mondlane’s name to ship a loud message that they reject an extension of Frelimo’s 49-year rule.

Mr Samuel stated the protest was first held on the night time of 15 November when big numbers of individuals took to the streets to bang pots, pans and bottles or to blow whistles.

“It was as though a new Mozambique was being born,” he added.

But the night time ended tragically, with Antonio being amongst these killed by police, Mr Samuel stated.

Since then most individuals have been finishing up the protest inside their properties, with the sound of banged pots and pans echoing throughout Maputo at 21:00 each night time.

At Antonio’s funeral on the São Francisco Xavier Cemetery 4 days after his killing, one in all his pals delivered his mom’s eulogy: “You were so full of life and hope. Now you are a victim of a bullet.”

Crying, Antonio’s pals planted flowers on his grave earlier than bursting vibrant balloons over it, a reminder that he was only a baby.

“At the morgue I counted six bodies of young children,” Mr Manuel informed the BBC.

“They are killing us and our future,” he added.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch stated that about 40 individuals – together with at the very least 10 youngsters – have been killed by police in the course of the post-election protests.

Mozambique’s police commander Bernadino Raphael expressed sympathy with the households of the victims, however deflected accountability for the deaths, blaming Mondlane’s supporters.

“They are using children as shields in front of them while they remain behind,” he alleged in a BBC interview.

The commander added that in lots of cases police had no alternative however to defend themselves from protesters who had unleashed violence, together with killing six officers and looting and burning property and autos.

“We recorded 103 injured people, 69 of whom were police officers,” he stated.

But Albino Forquilha, the chief of the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique, which backed Mondlane’s presidential bid, accused police of utilizing extreme drive to suppress dissent.

“It feels as though they are being used to protect the ruling party,” he informed the BBC.

South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies analyst Borges Nhamirre stated this was the primary time Mozambique had witnessed so many casualties, and harm to property, throughout protests.

He stated it was clear that Frelimo had misplaced reputation, particularly amongst younger individuals who had been “looking for jobs, looking for vocational training, looking for a plot to build their house, looking for some money”.

“They don’t care about who brought independence. The independence they want is their financial independence,” Mr Nhamirre stated.

After the consequence was introduced on 24 October, Chapo was adamant that he and Frelimo had gained in a free and truthful contest, saying: “We are an organised party that prepares its victories.”

Since then he has saved a notably low profile, ready for the courts to rule on Mondlane’s bid to annul the consequence.

In an obvious try to sustain the stress forward of the ruling, lots of Mondlane’s supporters additionally heeded his name to mourn the useless for 3 days (till 22 November) by stopping their autos and hooting at midday.

Like Antonio, 20-year-old Alito Momad was allegedly killed by police in the course of the protests.

The BBC got here throughout a few of his pals in a neighbourhood outdoors Maputo, holding an evening vigil for him on 17 November.

With a Mozambican flag laid out on the ground subsequent to burning candles, Alito’s pals confirmed us a photograph of him – with what gave the impression to be a gunshot wound behind his head.

It was one other reminder of how the election had lower brief the lives of younger individuals, with their pals and relations hoping they are going to get justice as Mozambique goes by one in all its most turbulent durations because the creation of multi-party democracy about 30 years in the past.