– Rioters tried to damage the mayor’s home and temporarily blocked traffic on the Maputo Ring Road
By António Cumbane
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Two young brothers were shot at point blank range on Thursday afternoon in a street in front of the private residence of the Mayor of Maputo, Rasaque Manhique, which led to a popular revolt in the Chihango area, in Albasine neighbourhood.
The victims were followed by a white dual cabin vehicle until a point near the gate of the Mayor’s residence, where they brought their vehicle to a halt. It was then that an individual opened fire from the car window shooting dead on the spot one of the two brothers. The other was seriously injured and is currently receiving medical care at Maputo Central Hospital.
Security video cameras show the moment in which everything happened in the vicinity of the Mayor’s residence in Chihango.
Because it was believed that the fatal shots were fired by Manhique’s security guards, local residents opted to attack the Mayor’s house, where they burnt the gate and threw stones into the building, breaking several windows. They also put boulders and tree trunks on the ring road, halting the traffic.
So far the reasons for the attack on the two brothers are not known.
When they blocked the ring road, the public was demanding justice and a speedy explanation of the crime, since it happened near the home of the Mayor, surrounded by security guards, and also near the 23rd police precinct.
“They say that the public just wants answers. In the midst of that confusion, a policeman was beaten up. Past Manhique’s residence, they barricaded the ring road with trunks and boulders. Nobody could enter or leave the city via the Costa do Sol toll gate”, said Manuel Matias, a resident in Marracuene who uses that road every day to reach Maputo city.
Videos circulating on social media show security guards and support staff from the Mayor’s residence assisting the young victims of the shooting. But one of them could not survive his injuries and died on the spot.
After the shots, the vehicle that carried the murderers, “turned round at high speed”, abandoning the victims.
The trunks and boulders were removed at night, with intervention of the police. On Friday morning, traffic was flowing normally in both directions.
The spokesperson of the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), Hilario Lole, confirmed the shooting and said, “right now, we are working, based on the available security videos, to clear up the crime”. (AC)
