- Venâncio Mondlane reiterates his call for a shutdown of the country on Monday, pointing to the site of his lawyer's murder as a rallying point.
- The Mozambique Bar Association says that the murders are an assault against the profession of advocacy and against the Rule of Law and democracy, and has called a march to repudiate the killings
By MOZTIMES
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The lawyer Elvino Dias, who represented Venâncio Mondlane and the PODEMOS party in election disputes, and the PODEMOS election agent, Paulo Guambe, were shot dead in central Maputo on Friday night. The PODEMOS President, Albino Forquilha, confirmed the murders in a telephone interview and promised to speak to the media after presenting his condolences to the families of the victims.
According to a statement issued by the Election Observation Consortium “Mais Integridade” (“More Integrity”), condemning the murders, the victims were intercepted by two pick-up trucks, from which two unknown individuals emerged, armed with firearms, who immediately peppered them with bullets. “Elvino Dias died instantly and Paulo Guambe some hours later, since the Police prevented the victims’ evacuation in an ambulance which was there to help them”, according to the Consortium’s statement, which cited eye-witnesses.
Elvino Dias was the legal adviser and strong supporter of Venâncio Mondlane, the presidential candidate who, according to the official preliminary results, was the runner-up in the elections held on 9 October. Mondlane refused to accept defeat and declared that he had won the election. He said he had results from a parallel vote count which confirm his victory.
Domestic and international election observation missions, including that of the European Union, mention cases of election fraud, including ballot box stuffing.
Paulo Guambe, Photo: Facebook
Mondlane has called a national strike for next Monday to oppose the results of “fraudulent” elections. The police reacted to the strike call by warning that it would not allow any illegal demonstration.
In his first public statement since the murder of his lawyer, Elvino Dias, Venâncio Mondlane said that “the blood spilled symbolises the beginning of the revolution” and described the victims as heroes.
Surrounded by dozens of his supporters, Mondlane said that his advisers “were murdered by the Defence and Security Forces” and that the “police had immediately collected the cartridges to hide the evidence of the crime”.
Despite the police threats, Mondlane reiterated his call for a demonstration to shut down the country on Monday and warned the police not to use force against demonstrators.
“I heard the police spokesman said there would be zero tolerance for vandalism. We're not going to vandalise anything; we're going to demonstrate peacefully. That's a constitutional right,” he said.
Daniel Chapo, FRELIMO's presidential candidate, issued a press release on Saturday evening condemning the murders.
“This act of violence is not only an attack on people committed to their country, but also an affront to democracy and the principles of the democratic rule of law, which we must all defend”, said the statement distributed by his PR adviser.
In a brief statement to the press this evening, Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda said the government was asking the National Criminal Investigation Service to quickly investigate these cases and bring the perpetrators to justice. He also asked all citizens to avoid spreading false information.
Surge of condemnation
The murders of the lawyer and the PODEMOS election agent are being condemned by domestic election observation organisations, human rights defenders and the Mozambican Bar Association. The Mozambique Network of Human Rights Defenders (RMDDH) associates the murders with the context of electoral tension.
“Elvino Dias is the second mortal victim of death squads in five years during election periods. On October 7th, 2019, a week before the general elections of that year, the death squads took the life of the activist and observer Anastácio Matavel”, said the RMDDH in an emailed statement.
The Mozambican Bar Association, an organisation of which Dias was a member, condemned the murder as an attack against democracy” and has called a march to repudiate it.
“Let us have no illusions, colleagues. This barbaric murder is an attack against the profession of advocacy, against its independence, against the Rule of Law and Democracy, because one cannot, in all conscience, dissociate this death, until proof of the contrary, from the acts undertaken by our illustrious colleague, as a front line lawyer”, says the OAM statement, signed by its chairperson, Carlos Martins.
“Our class should rise up against the impunity and organized crime, which has taken over institutions. We must demonstrate total indignation, and ask questions, demanding an explanation and punishment for this barbaric crime. A march of repudiation in all the Provincial Councils must also be held in memory of this fighter for the affirmation of the free and independent practice of advocacy. The Bar Association will instruct the Commission in Defence of the Prerogatives of Lawyers to accompany all the developments of the investigations, because crime should not pay”, said the Bar Association.
We, the U.S. Embassy, the High Commission of Canada, the Embassy of Norway, the Embassy of Switzerland, the High Commission of the United Kingdom, as part of the international community, join Mozambicans in condemning the killing of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe and extending our… pic.twitter.com/l1bZ5WXgSd
— Embaixada dos EUA em Moçambique (@USEmbassyMoz) October 19, 2024
Fonte: X - Canal oficial da Embaixada dos Estados Unidos da América em Moçambique
The European Union also condemned the assassinations and called for “an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation that will bring to justice those responsible for this outrageous crime, provide clarity on the circumstances in which it occurred, and looks forward to reactions by the Mozambican Government”, said in a statement released this Saturday.
“These events take place after worrying reports about violent dispersion of supporters in the aftermath of last week’s election in Mozambique. The EU calls for utmost restraint by all, and for respect of fundamental freedoms and political rights. In addition, strong protection measures of all candidates in this post-electoral period are crucial”, the EU added. (Newsroom.)
(Article updated at 8:00 pm to add statements by Venâncio Mondlane, Minister of the Interior and the European Union). (MT)
