By António Cumbane and Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The 2M brewery, the largest in the country, announced its temporary closure on Thursday, a day after it had been invaded and vandalised by rioters who proclaim their support for fugitive presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane.
The brewery is located in Marracuene district, about 30 kilometres north of the capital, Maputo.
The owners of the brewery, the company Cervejas de Moçambique (CDM), said in a press release that its security structure, including the surveillance cameras, had been compromised by the thousands of people who used various entrances to break into the premises.
Images circulating on social media show the crowd breaking down the factory gate, located on the country’s main north-south highway, and stealing an unspecified amount of beer. Some workers inside the premises were injured.
“We urge all of society to make efforts to ensure a return to social normality”, declared the CDM release.
The demonstrations against the general election results have long since ceased to be peaceful. Vandalism and theft of goods from shops occurred right from the start of the unrest, but as from last week there have been invasions of the premises of large multinational companies, revealing the incapacity of the Defence and Security Forces to protect critical economic infrastructures during the crisis.
On Tuesday, businesspeople met with President Filipe Nyusi to ask for increased security for their businesses. The Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA) warned that the multinationals operating in the country are considering declaring force majeure and suspending their activities due to lack of security. (AC/NM)
