Police in Mozambique fired teargas on Monday to disperse a small crowd in Maputo, where shops remained closed ahead of a planned protest against alleged electoral fraud. Several dozen individuals, including journalists, fled as heavily armed police patrolled a main street, according to social media videos and an AFP reporter on the ground.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who was a presidential candidate in the October 9 elections, had called for the protest to challenge early results showing the ruling Frelimo party in the lead. Tensions escalated over the weekend following the fatal shootings of two of Mondlane’s associates in Maputo.
Lawyer Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, a candidate from the small Podemos party that supports Mondlane, were in a vehicle surrounded by other cars when they were shot dead, according to witnesses. Podemos leader Albino Forquilha confirmed the deaths to AFP, while police launched an investigation but did not officially identify the victims.
The European Union, African Union, and United Nations condemned the killings, urging authorities to identify those responsible. UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement calling on “all Mozambicans, including political leaders and their supporters, to remain calm, exercise restraint, and reject all forms of violence.”
Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the African Union Commission, expressed “deep concern” over “reported cases of post-election violence, particularly the recent killings.”
On Monday, Maputo resembled a ghost town, with shops shut and helicopters hovering above the city of about one million people. Mozambique, which is set to announce official presidential and parliamentary results this week, has a history of electoral violence. Last year, clashes following municipal elections resulted in several deaths.
