The African Union (AU) on Monday condemned the killing of two close allies of Mozambican opposition figure Venancio Mondlane, including his lawyer as tensions remains following the October 9 general elections.
Nearly two weeks after the general elections, Mozambique remains in the spotlight. Elvino Dias, the lawyer of the opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, and a member of the Podemos party, Paulo Gambe, were killed on Friday night as the former was preparing to file an appeal to denounce fraud in the October 9 elections, the final results of which have not yet been announced.
In a statement sent to APA on Monday, the chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, “condemned” the double murder and offered his condolences to the families of the deceased.
“The chairman calls on the Mozambican security authorities to carry out the necessary investigations and bring the perpetrators to justice,” Mahamat said, urging the parties to “remain calm” and “respect the judicial process” in the interest of Mozambique’s stability.
The Chadian diplomat said he was closely following the aftermath of Mozambique’s general elections and expressed “deep concern” at the reported post-election violence, including the recent killings. He recalled that the AU had deployed a short-term election observation mission to the country.
Moussa F. Mahamat also urged all Mozambican political actors to promote a peaceful approach as the country awaits the official proclamation of the final results by the Constitutional Council.
On Monday, a demonstration was dispersed with tear gas in Mozambique’s capital, which had the appearance of a dead city, following a call for a general strike by Venancio Mondlane to denounce fraud in the presidential election, as reported by AFP.
The demonstration took place two days after the assassination of two people close to the opponent, including his lawyer, who was preparing an appeal against the results of the October 9 election, which have yet to be published.
Maputo’s main thoroughfares, usually clogged with traffic, were deserted by mid-morning.
Dozens of demonstrators and several journalists marched down a main avenue before being dispersed by heavily armed riot police firing tear gas canisters.
“Venancio,” as his supporters call him, towered over most of the demonstrators. He told everyone to go home before taking cover himself.
A presidential candidate under the banner of the Podemos party, the 50-year-old former radio host had called for the demonstrations to challenge the preliminary results of the election, which put Frelimo, the party in power for 49 years, in the lead.
Tensions were at their highest in the capital two days after the murder of his lawyer, Elvino Dias, who was preparing an appeal to the country’s Supreme Court to denounce fraud, and that of a Podemos leader, Paulo Guambe.
The two men’s car was intercepted by two other vehicles, from which armed assailants emerged and fired some twenty bullets at close range, according to witnesses.
The African Union, the European Union and the United Nations General Secretariat have already condemned the violence and called for a swift investigation.
ODL/ac/sf/lb/as/APA