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Maputo, 16 Jun (AIM) – Mozambique’s former presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane, has denied that he is on the run, saying that he is quite willing to answer for his actions before a court.
He was speaking on Saturday, in a live broadcast transmitted over his Facebook page, and responding to a claim made by the Ministry of Justice that his whereabouts are unknown. In a summons published last Tuesday, the Maputo City Law Court gave Mondlane 20 days to present his defence in a lawsuit filed by the Mozambican state, in the context of the post-election demonstrations he had called to protest against the fraudulent results of the general elections held last October.
The mass demonstrations, which took place across the country, degenerated into rioting, looting and the destruction of public and private property.
The notice, which was published in the Maputo daily paper “Notícias”, says that Mondlane will be heard in the 19th section of the Maputo Law Court and, “if he so wishes, may present his defence, in the ordinary common proceedings, brought by the Mozambican state, through the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR).”
The court document claimed that Mondlane’s current whereabouts are unknown, but at the same time it gave his address and phone number.
On Saturday Mondlane insisted that he would take his mission “to its final consequences”, even if that meant facing criminal proceedings brought against him by the state.
He had no intention of going into hiding. “I have taken up the challenge of carrying this cross”, said Mondlane. “I am willing to do so, even if it means being arrested, tried and sentenced. I am here. I returned to be close to my people, to continue political activities, and to be the voice of the voiceless”.
He said he did not know why the court had summoned him. The court, he added, could always find him, even if he was not at home. There was “not the slightest chance” that the court was unable to locate him. Despite the challenges he faced, he intended to continue his struggle “to the end”.
(AIM)
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