Gunmen kill two Mozambique: Before demonstrations against the contentious vote, Paulo Guambe, a party representative, and Elvino Dias, a lawyer for the Podemos party, were assassinated.
According to their party, gunmen in Mozambique have murdered the attorney for a prominent opposition leader and another opposition figure ahead of demonstrations against a contentious election outcome.
The Podemos party reported on Saturday that the attackers killed them late Friday night in the capital Maputo after pursuing the vehicle of party representative Paulo Guambe and attorney Elvino Dias.
Social media videos showed a BMW SUV with multiple bullet holes in its body in the middle of the road. In several of the videos, the front seats looked to contain the bodies of two males, one of whom had blood on his chest. Slumped over was the other body.
Gunmen kill two Mozambique As the southern African nation awaits the results of an election on October 9 that has sparked further accusations of vote-rigging and crackdowns on dissent against the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) party’s 49-year reign, tensions are already high.
On Monday, Podemos called for a statewide protest and disputed preliminary results that indicated Frelimo had won. Venancio Mondlane was backed by Podemos even though he ran as an independent for president.
Podemos said that the murders are “further clear evidence of the lack of justice that we are all subjected to.”
Adriano Nuvunga, director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) in Mozambique, told the Reuters news agency over the phone, “They were brutally assassinated [in a] cold-blooded murder.”
“It appears that between 10 and 15 bullets were fired, and they perished immediately.”
Gunmen kill two Mozambique According to their party, gunmen in Mozambique have murdered the attorney for a prominent opposition leader and another opposition figure ahead of demonstrations against a contentious election outcome.
The Podemos party reported on Saturday that the attackers killed them late Friday night in the capital Maputo after pursuing the vehicle of party representative Paulo Guambe and attorney Elvino Dias.
Gunmen kill two Mozambique
Social media videos showed a BMW SUV with multiple bullet holes in its body in the middle of the road. In several of the videos, the front seats looked to contain the bodies of two males, one of whom had blood on his chest. Slumped over was the other body.
As the southern African nation awaits the results of an election on October 9 that has sparked further accusations of vote-rigging and crackdowns on dissent against the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) party’s 49-year reign, tensions are already high.
On Monday, Podemos called for a statewide protest and disputed preliminary results that indicated Frelimo had won. Venancio Mondlane was backed by Podemos even though he ran as an independent for president.
Podemos said that the murders are “further clear evidence of the lack of justice that we are all subjected to.”
Adriano Nuvunga, director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) in Mozambique, told the Reuters news agency over the phone, “They were brutally assassinated [in a] cold-blooded murder.”
“It appears that between 10 and 15 bullets were fired, and they perished immediately.”
Human Rights Watch confirmed the attack in a statement as well.
Gunmen kill two Mozambique is in the lead in all 11 provinces, according to the most recent election results, and Daniel Chapo, their candidate, is predicted to win. President Filipe Nyusi, who has been in office for no more than two terms, is anticipated to be replaced by Chapo.
Frelimo has been accused of electoral fraud by Podemos and other opposition parties. Citing allegations of intimidation, vote-buying, and swollen voter rolls in Frelimo strongholds, Western observers have also questioned the polls.
Following two decades in power, Frelimo brought democracy to Mozambique in 1994, but the country has struggled with these problems ever since. Although the final results of the election are anticipated on October 24, there are concerns that Monday’s demonstration may turn violent.
Rights groups claim that Mozambique’s security forces have previously opened fire on political demonstrators, particularly following the municipal elections last year.
The NGO’s head, Nuvunga, described Dias’s death as a “political assassination” on social media.
Source: AL Jazeera