Eight shot dead during Chapo’s investiture

Maputo, 16 Jan (AIM) – At least eight people were shot dead by the Police on Wednesday as part of post-election crisis demonstrations protesting against the investiture of Daniel Chapo, the General Secretary of the ruling Frelimo party, as the fifth president of Mozambique.

According to a report by the NGO “Decide” Electoral Platform, three people were shot dead in the southern municipality of Matola, two in Maputo city, and three in the northern province of Nampula.

“It should have been a day of celebration, but the demonstrations took on other proportions and we have more deaths in Maputo and Nampula”, reads the report.

These victims are supporters of former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who has been calling for demonstrations since 21 October in order to demand “electoral justice”, rejecting the results announced by electoral bodies.

On Wednesday, the protesters were following Mondlane’s announcement of another phase of demonstrations in order to protest against the investiture of Chapo. Mondlane insists that the results announced by the National Elections Commission (CNE) and the Constitutional Council (CC), the country’s highest body in electoral matters, are based on fraudulent data.

The NGO also reports that, since the post-election demonstrations began, at least 303 people have been shot dead by police while 619 others were injured by gunshots. During the demonstrations, 4,228 people were also detained by the authorities.

However, another prominent NGO, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), claims that the number of people shot dead by police has reached 517.
(AIM)
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