By Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – In the early hours of Thursday morning, unidentified assailants murdered the chairman of the district electoral commission in Inhassunge, Zambezia province, Joaquim Salimo, district administrator Bernardo Cutane said in a phone interview.
The murder followed an attack on the district police headquarters, during which firearms were stolen. A senior ruling Frelimo party official was also beaten and is currently in hospital. Local authorities in the district are in hiding.
“At three o'clock in the morning, a group arrived and broke into the police headquarters, burned a vehicle belonging to the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), and then went to the home of a secretary for administration and finance of the FRELIMO party. They vandalised her home and attacked her with a machete. She is now in hospital,” Cutane.
“They shot the president of the district electoral commission and then hacked him to pieces with machetes. They destroyed his house before proceeding to the administration offices, the courthouse, and the detention centre, where they released prisoners. The courthouse was also vandalised,” Cutane added, noting that the extent of the damage was still being assessed.
These crimes take place amid a post-election crisis in Mozambique, where citizens are protesting the results of the 9 October elections, which awarded victory to the ruling Frelimo party amid widespread allegations of fraud. Police have responded to the protests with violence, firing live bullets at demonstrators.
The district of Inhassunge had not previously seen major protests against the election results, but the city of Quelimane, located across the River of Good Signs, was the site of demonstrations and police violence yesterday. The local mayor, Manuel de Araújo, was struck by tear gas. Quelimane is governed by RENAMO.
A traditional leader from Inhassunge, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was in hiding and described the district’s situation as one of “terror.” “We are in a critical situation. The head of the district electoral commission, Salimo, was brutally killed last night and left in pieces. We’ve fled our homes and are trying to escape this; even our régulo, the head of the post, is fleeing,” he said in a phone interview. (NM)
