- Demonstrators burnt down the home of the head of the police post, freed prisoners from the cells, and seized two AK47
By António Cumbane
Three people, including a member of the police, died, and a police post and a residence were set on fire on Thursday morning, in the village of Mangungumete, in Inhassoro district, Inhambane province.
The case occurred on National Highway Number One (EN1), which links the south to the north of the country, where a group of demonstrators had blocked the road, demanding that traffic be interrupted, as part of the demonstrations called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane.
We learnt that, in addition to destroying the police post, the demonstrators released all the prisoners detained in the police cells, and seized two AK-47 assault rifles,
One source told MOZTIMES on Thursday that the unrest began at around 07.00 when a group of people erected barricades on EN1, preventing any movement of people and goods from north to south and vice versa.
"Faced with that situation, the police had to act, and they were met with war. There were beatings, and a member of the police was given as dead. Two civilians were also shot and died on the spot”, explained the source.
In Mangungumete the crossroads of Temane is located, where the South African company Sasol is exploiting natural gas. This is a place that is visibly undergoing development, but on Thursday much was destroyed by the demonstrators, infuriated by the preliminary election results which gave victory to the Frelimo Party and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo.
"They looted shops. They stole goods. They did a lot of damage. The police had to be mobilised from Inhambane city to support the local police, since everything was out of control”, said our source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Videos circulating on social media show men firing into the air with the guns seized from the police post. The number of prisoners released is not known.
This is the first time Inhambane province has experienced unrest on this scale since the demonstrations urged by Venâncio Mondlane began last month.
At the time of writing, Mangungumete, which is more than 30 kilometres from Inhassoro town, was still in a state of panic. (AC)
