Do as we say, not as we do

Good afternoon. The police and public prosecutors are doing their bit to support the government in trying to persuade or threaten people not to hold any more demonstrations over the election results. As the so-called fourth phase of demonstrations called for by opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane began today, the media were reporting condemnation of the violence from police chief Bernardino Rafael and an announcement from the Attorney-General's Office that over 200 criminal cases have been opened in connection with the protests, in addition to civil cases in which the government is seeking damages (see below).

That these people are following a political agenda set by the government is nothing new, of course. And it fits with the government’s approach to date of not addressing the politics behind the protests, and treating them simply as a public order problem. But it is remarkable that the justice system only feels able to condemn the demonstrators. It does not feel able to condemn or investigate the police officers who have reportedly killed over 30 people, some of whom were apparently not even protesting (there are reports that some victims were shot by bullets that entered their homes).

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From the Zitamar Live Blog:

Zitamar Mozambique Live Blog

At least four alleged kidnappers were killed today in the Jonasse neighbourhood, in the city of Matola in Maputo province, during a police operation to rescue Portuguese businessman who was kidnapped in the city of Maputo on 29 October. Hilário Lole, a spokesman for the criminal investigation service Sernic which carried out the operation, said two kidnap victims were rescued at the scene. No identities were confirmed by Lole. One of the kidnap victims has been named on social media as Ernesto Amaral Fonseca.

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Zitamar Mozambique Live Blog

One person has been shot dead by police in Nampula this morning, and a further five injured, after police opened fire on protesters in the Namicopo neighbourhood of the city, local newspaper Ikweli reports this morning. Ikweli said the police were “hunting” possible leaders of the demonstrations in the city today, and that they “fired indiscriminately on defenceless people in their own yards” in Namicopo. One victim was reportedly a builder working on a house. On X, social activist Cídia Chissungo said three people had been killed. Elsewhere in the city, Ikweli reported that life was continuing as normal, with health centres receiving patients and students going to school to take their end-of-year exams. But on the Rua da França on the outskirts of the city, protesters had set up barricades and were burning tyres, the report said. Police had arrived on the scene and have been launching tear gas, causing the area to be deserted by protesters and local residents alike, Ikweli reported.

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The Attorney-General’s Office is not usually very communicative. It has not been able to say recently what prosecutions if any are being launched against kidnapping gangs. Nor has it or the police announced any investigation, let alone prosecution, of the killings of opposition figures Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe last month. This despite the fact that President Filipe Nyusi has condemned the killings and promised that they would be investigated.