Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican police shot two people dead and seriously injured a third on Tuesday when they violently suppressed a demonstration in Mulombo district, in the central province of Zambezia, by people who were protesting against a ban on using the Malawian currency, the kwacha, in commercial transactions.
Consumers and shopkeepers alike objected to the ban. The Malawian currency has been used for many years in those Zambezia districts that border on Malawi (Milange, Derre, Morrumbala and Mulombo). Many people here, who cross the border regularly, prefer the kwacha to the Mozambican currency, the metical.
In the Coromana administrative post, about 40 kilometres from the Mulombo district capital, demonstrators set up barricades and, according to a report in the Maputo daily “Noticias”, they threatened government employees.
The police responded by opening fire on the demonstrators. The Zambezia provincial police commander, Aquilasse Manda, confirmed the two deaths, and said the injured man was evacuated to the Milange district hospital.
He said the police had to request reinforcements from Milange, to disperse the demonstrators. There are still police officers on the ground, attempting to restore public order, he added.
Read: Coromana riot: Two persons killed, one seriously injured
Read: Mozambique: Riots in Coromana over Kwacha ban, Chefe do Posto’s house vandalised – Watch.
