Rioters damaged 20 Maputo traffic lights during post-election unrest

Maputo, 3 Mar (AIM) – Maputo Municipal Council has announced that 20 of the city’s traffic lights were damaged by rioters during the post-election unrest, characterized by looting and destruction of public and private infrastructures.

Mass demonstrations, called by the former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane in order to protest against the fraudulent results of the general elections held last October, began peacefully but then degenerated into rioting, including the destruction of public and private property, road blockades and the looting of stores.

The damage, according to a statement from the Municipal Council, was caused by rioters in the main avenues of the country’s capital.

“Traffic lights along Moçambique Avenue were entirely destroyed. The lights along Acordos de Lusaka Avenue and Angola Avenue were partially damaged”, reads the statement.

According to the document, the accessories of these traffic lights “were vandalized, stolen and knocked down.”

“The rioters also damaged or stole 10 Controllers (CPU), 10,141 street lights, two solar panels, two batteries and 1,563 meters of electrical cable”, reads the note.

According to Evelina Gomane, the Chief Prosecutor in Maputo Province, 240 criminal cases have been opened by the Maputo provincial attorney’s office against the perpetrators of vandalism and violence during the post-election protests.

Of the total, nine cases are against members of the Defence and Security Forces who, in their actions, exceeded the limits set by the law, and there is one civil case against persons who supposedly financed the rioters.

The Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA) points out that the post-election riots also caused economic losses totalling 32.2 billion meticais (over 500 million US dollars) and the loss of 17,000 jobs.
(AIM)
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