Amnesty International (AI) this Thursday condemned and demanded that Mozambican authorities investigate the “excessive use of force” by the Mozambican police, which resulted in the deaths of at least five people, in incidents following local elections on October 11.
“The use of excessive force by the police of the Republic of Mozambique, resulting in the deaths, serious injuries and arbitrary detention of protesters and bystanders, constitutes a clear violation of the country’s Constitution and international human rights obligations,” said Tigere Chaguta, AI. Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, was quoted in a statement released this Thursday by the non-governmental organization (NGO).
Mozambican police “used excessive and lethal force,” including “live rounds and tear gas,” against thousands of peaceful protesters and bystanders in several communities in Mozambique following October municipal protests that “killed at least five civilians, including three children, and 27 were injured,” AI emphasized.
Mozambican authorities “must conduct a prompt, complete, impartial, independent, transparent and effective investigation” into the various allegations in question, “including the case of agents who shot and killed protesters, including minors, and all other cases of excessive violence ” use of force,” Chaguta said.
Those suspected of abuse of force, the AI director added, must be given a “fair trial,” just as “victims must have access to justice and effective remedies.”
The three minors killed were a 16-year-old boy from Chiure, Cabo Delgado province, a 14-year-old boy, Atipo Ajuma, who was killed on the street while selling maje (a local soft drink), and a 17-year-old boy, who was killed while hiding from the police together. with his father, the human rights NGO emphasizes.
Mozambique held local elections on 11 October, and fifteen days later, on 26 October, the Electoral Commission (CNE) declared Frelimo a victory in 64 of the 65 municipalities that took part in the vote, contrary to the expectations of Renamo, which lost in all the municipalities where it stood, but also from the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), which won in the municipality of Beira, Sofala province.
The AI is paying particular attention to sending law enforcement officers to municipalities contested by Renamo, as of October 12, “in clear anticipation of a reaction to the announcement of the election results”, which will not be published until fifteen days later. CNE and the Technical Secretariat of the Electoral Administration (STAE).
“The announcement of Frelimo’s victory intensified the unrest that began on October 12, when STAE presented the first results,” AI noted, emphasizing that in the following days, “thousands of protesters took to the streets in the cities of Maputo, Matola, Vilanculos, Quelimane, Gurué, Nampula, Nacala, Angoche, Cuamba and Chiure.”
“On October 27, police invaded Renamo’s headquarters in Maputo and detained dozens of supporters and bystanders who had fled there,” but “many other protesters, including bystanders, were detained in other municipalities of the country,” AI recalled that “ hundreds of people continue to be held in police custody in degrading conditions and without formal charges.”
The organization therefore called for the “immediate release of all people detained solely for participating in peaceful protests, including supporters and members of Renamo.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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