Maputo, 4 Oct (AIM) – The Mozambican police (PRM) have threatened to sue independent presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane for “incitement to violence”, following clashes in the central city of Chimoio on Wednesday between supporters of the ruling Frelimo Party and of Podemos (Party of Optimists for the Development of Mozambique), which is backing Mondlane.
The police also claim Mondlane violated the law by campaigning later than 21.00, the time when the election campaign is supposed to end. This clause in the law has been widely ignored by many of the candidates.
According to the police, cited by the independent television station STV, at one stage a vehicle driven by a prison guard slipped in front of Mondlane’s motorcade. Mondlane’s supporters then supposedly vandalized this car, and beat up the driver. Five people were treated in Chimoio hospital for minor injuries.
But the latest issue of the bulletin on the elections, published by the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), gives a completely different version of this clash, backed up by video evidence.
The trouble began, CIP said, when, at the last minute, the police changed the route that had previously been approved for the Podemos motorcade. The Podemos members did not accept the change, and decided to use the route that had been approved for their election campaign, which passed in front of the Frelimo Party district headquarters.
Frelimo used their vehicles to block the road. The police put themselves in front of the Podemos motorcade to prevent its passage, and also put one of their vehicles across the road, preventing any other vehicles from passing.
Mondlane announced that his motorcade would use the original route and challenged the police commander to open fire against him, rather than against other people on the motorcade. “Commander, if you want to shoot, shoot at me”, he declared.
The Podemos motorcade then forced its way through, and the Frelimo members gave way.
According to CIP, the police then went into action, and began to open fire, while a red Frelimo car was placed to block the road once again. At the same time, a police vehicle was placed across the road, blocking the passage.
The following day, after the threats from the district police commander, Mondlane said “they’ll get tired of suing me”.
Taking him to court made no sense, he argued, while other candidates committed crimes with impunity. Why, he wondered, did the police take no action when a candidate shut down schools so that the teachers could take part in his campaign?
He was referring to the Frelimo presidential candidate, Daned Chapo. From across the country, there are reports of teachers being obliged to join the Chapo campaign, and as a result pupils have inded been deprived of their classes.
(AIM)
Pf/ (469)
