Police accused of killing pot-banging protesters

The mourners at a cemetery in crisis-hit Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, had been strikingly younger – youngsters shedding tears as they bade farewell to a 16-year-old buddy, who was shot lifeless whereas banging pots and pans in an opposition-organised protest towards the end result of final month’s presidential election.

“Antonio was shot within the mouth, and the bullet went by way of the again of his head,” his uncle, Manuel Samuel, advised the BBC.

“We noticed CCTV footage from close by outlets of police capturing at protesters,” he added.

Antonio Juaqim’s killing is a tragic reminder of the risky political local weather within the southern African state since Frelimo – the previous liberation motion in energy since independence 49 years in the past – was declared the winner of the ballot.

The electoral fee mentioned Frelimo’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, received with a whopping 71% of the vote, in comparison with the 20% of his closest rival, Venâncio Mondlane.

An evangelical pastor who contested the presidency as an impartial after breaking away from the primary opposition Renamo social gathering, Mondlane rejected the declaration, alleging the ballot was rigged.

This was denied by the electoral fee, however Mondlane – who fled the nation, fearing arrest – has rallied his supporters through social media to protest towards the end result.

Each evening at 21:00 native time (19:00 GMT), folks have been banging pots and pans of their houses, as they heed Mondlane’s name to ship a loud message that they reject an extension of Frelimo’s 49-year rule.

Mr Samuel mentioned the protest was first held on the evening of 15 November when big numbers of individuals took to the streets to bang pots, pans and bottles or to blow whistles.

“It was as if a brand new Mozambique was being born,” he added.

However the evening ended tragically, with Antonio being amongst these killed by police, Mr Samuel mentioned.

Since then most individuals have been finishing up the protest inside their houses, with the sound of banged pots and pans echoing throughout Maputo at 21:00 each evening.

At Antonio’s funeral on the São Francisco Xavier Cemetery 4 days after his killing, one in all his associates delivered his mom’s eulogy: “You had been so vigorous and hope. Now you’re a sufferer of a bullet.”

Crying, Antonio’s associates planted flowers on his grave earlier than bursting vibrant balloons over it, a reminder that he was only a baby.

“On the morgue I counted six our bodies of younger youngsters,” Mr Manuel advised the BBC.

“They’re killing us and our future,” he added.

Marketing campaign group Human Rights Watch mentioned that about 40 folks – together with no less than 10 youngsters – have been killed by police in the course of the post-election protests.

Mozambique’s police commander Bernadino Raphael expressed sympathy with the households of the victims, however deflected duty for the deaths, blaming Mondlane’s supporters.

“They’re utilizing youngsters as shields in entrance of them whereas they continue to be behind,” he alleged in a BBC interview.

The commander added that in lots of cases police had no selection however to defend themselves from protesters who had unleashed violence, together with killing six officers and looting and burning property and autos.

“We recorded 103 injured folks, 69 of whom had been law enforcement officials,” he mentioned.

However Albino Forquilha, the chief of the Optimist Get together for the Growth of Mozambique, which backed Mondlane’s presidential bid, accused police of utilizing extreme pressure to suppress dissent.

“It feels as if they’re getting used to guard the ruling social gathering,” he advised the BBC.

South Africa-based Institute for Safety Research analyst Borges Nhamirre mentioned this was the primary time Mozambique had witnessed so many casualties, and harm to property, throughout protests.

He mentioned it was clear that Frelimo had misplaced recognition, particularly amongst younger individuals who had been “on the lookout for jobs, on the lookout for vocational coaching, on the lookout for a plot to construct their home, on the lookout for some cash”.

“They do not care about who introduced independence. The independence they need is their monetary independence,” Mr Nhamirre mentioned.

After the end result was introduced on 24 October, Chapo was adamant that he and Frelimo had received in a free and truthful contest, saying: “We’re an organised social gathering that prepares its victories.”

Since then he has stored a notably low profile, ready for the courts to rule on Mondlane’s bid to annul the end result.

In an obvious try to sustain the stress forward of the ruling, lots of Mondlane’s supporters additionally heeded his name to mourn the lifeless for 3 days (till 22 November) by stopping their autos and hooting at midday.

Like Antonio, 20-year-old Alito Momad was allegedly killed by police in the course of the protests.

The BBC got here throughout a few of his associates in a neighbourhood exterior Maputo, holding an evening vigil for him on 17 November.

With a Mozambican flag laid out on the ground subsequent to burning candles, Alito’s associates confirmed us a photograph of him – with what seemed to be a gunshot wound behind his head.

It was one other reminder of how the election had minimize brief the lives of younger folks, with their associates and kin hoping they are going to get justice as Mozambique goes by way of one in all its most turbulent intervals because the creation of multi-party democracy about 30 years in the past.