Households return to their area of origin after unrest

Maputo, 3 Jan (AIM) – Some of the over 2,500 households from Morrumbala district, in the central Mozambican province of Zambezia, who entered Nsanje district in Malawi in recent days, fleeing the post-election tension, have returned to their areas of origin after the unrest slowed down.
According to João Nhabessa, administrator of Morrumbala district, cited by Radio Mozambique, the authorities have so far recorded the return of about 200 households to their areas of origin.

“We, as the district government, are in constant interaction with our Malawian neighbour district of Sanje, and we would like to thank them for this very valuable interaction. What we’re doing is continuing to work so that public order and security relax and return to normality”, he said.

Since 21 October, the country has been torn by demonstrations called by the presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who rejects the decision of the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of electoral law, which gave victory in the October general elections to the ruling Frelimo party and its candidate, Daniel Chapo.
When Chapo was declared winner on 23 December, there followed what Mondlane called the “Turbo V8” phase of the protests. This phase of the protests was the most lethal since demonstrations in support of Mondlane began.

During the riots, which lasted for four days, at least 176 people were shot dead by the police, according to the NGO “Decide” Electoral Platform.

The death toll is said to have been particularly high in this phase because it coincided with a mass breakout of prisoners from the Maputo Central Prison and the adjacent Top Security Prison.
(AIM)
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