By Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Two major toll gates on the outskirts of Maputo and offices adjacent to a third toll gate along National Road Number 4 (EN4) were set on fire on Wednesday in a new wave of violent sabotage in the Greater Maputo region.
The violence began on Wednesday morning at the EN4 toll gate between the cities of Maputo and Matola. Local residents blocked toll fee collections, prompting a violent response from the police. A child and a young man were injured during the clashes. In response, protesters set fire to the offices of Trans-African Concession (TRAC), the South African company managing the toll gate.
According to reports by the local television channel TV Sucesso, the police took the injured to the hospital. No official updates on their condition have been provided.
Later that night, two other toll gates were set on fire, both located along National Road Number 200, which connects Maputo to the tourist resort of Ponta do Ouro. Verified images circulating on social media showed the KaTembe toll gate, on the opposite side of Maputo Bay, engulfed in flames during the night.
Similarly, the toll gate in Mudissa, near the town of Bela Vista, the capital of Matutuíne district, was also set on fire.
The Mozambique Road Network (REVIMO), a company largely owned by the state, manages the two toll gates that were burned. According to data shared by REVIMO, the collection of tolls was suspended at the start of protests against the election results in late October. This affected 448 workers—most of them young—who were temporarily left without work.
The company also reported the total or partial destruction of eight of the 16 toll gates under its management, including those located in Matola Gare, Zintava, Cumbeza, Macaneta, Mahubo, Ponta do Ouro in Maputo Province, and two toll gates in Gaza Province.
The destruction of the toll gates comes in response to demands made by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who has called for tolls to be waived as one of the measures to protest the election results, which he refuses to recognise. (NM)
