Gas, blood and whitewash

Good afternoon. The families of people said to have been killed and tortured by Mozambican troops guarding the site of TotalEnergies’ gas project in Cabo Delgado province should not get too hopeful about news that the abuses are finally going to be looked into (see below).

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From the Zitamar Live Blog:

Zitamar Mozambique Live Blog

Police fired on a motorcade belonging to former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane that was parading on Julius Nyerere Avenue, in the Hulene neighbourhood of the city of Maputo, around midday local time today. At least one person was confirmed wounded, apparently from Mondlane’s team. The parade, followed by thousands of people, began its journey at Youth Square, in the Magoanine neighborhood, towards Veterans’ Square, in the Polana Caniço neighborhood. Before the shots were fired, the police blocked the road with an armoured car. The parade was being held on the day that an agreement on political and constitutional reforms was due to be signed between President Daniel Chapo and political parties. Mondlane said during the parade that the agreement was null and void and should be challenged by the people.

Telegram

It has been over five months since claims that locals were imprisoned in a container, tortured and killed by troops were first published by the website Politico, so why take action now? The decision by the Attorney-General’s office to investigate has been taken in response to pressure from the French energy firm, which is unhappy that it has been accused of responsibility for the alleged torture and killings. Not only were the troops protecting the construction site of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on the Afungi peninsula, but at the time, TotalEnergies and the other members of the consortium developing the project, known as Mozambique LNG, were paying a subsidy to them to help cover the cost of security.