Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Human Rights Network Association, a Mozambican NGO, has filed a criminal complaint against Egídio Vaz, a deputy of the ruling Frelimo party in the Assembly of the Republic, the country’s parliament, for incitement to crime and public advocacy of hatred and violence.
The complaint is based on a Facebook post, allegedly written by Vaz, in which he mocked the murder, on 19 October 2024, of the prominent opposition lawyer Elvino Dias, who represented the independent presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, in the elections held in October 2024.
Dias, who was shot dead along with Paulo Guambe, an election agent for the Podemos Party, was known to be working on the appeals against electoral fraud intended to be submitted to the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law.
Although the murders took place in a densely populated part of the city, with plenty of traffic, the police have never detained any suspects for these killings.
In the alleged Facebook post, Vaz says: “You can talk, you can roll, no matter who it hurts, Frelimo will continue in power for another 50 years. Even if we have to eliminate 50 more Elvinos, we will not hesitate…we will not back down.”
This Facebook post was published on 25 September 2024, just a week after the murders.
But Vaz denied the authenticity of the post, first in November 2024, and again this week. He warned that he could sue for libel those who continued to attribute the post to him.
The organization’s complaint was submitted to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) on Thursday, claiming that “such a statement, made in a public space and with widespread social dissemination, constitutes direct incitement to commit murder, as well as an apology for crimes already committed, in clear reference to the murder of Dr. Elvino Dias.”
“Such words reveal animus necandi (intent to kill or cause to be killed) against political opponents, constituting a serious violation of the constitutional principles of peace, democracy, and political pluralism, defended by the Constitution”, reads the document.
According to the organization, freedom of expression, granted by the Constitution of the Republic, does not include the right to incite violence, discrimination, or the physical elimination of political opponents.
“For this reason, we call on the PGR to take appropriate criminal proceedings against Egídio Vaz, withdrawing his parliamentary immunity until the case is concluded. The PGR must carry out the necessary investigative steps (preservation of digital evidence, questioning of witnesses and technical and computer expertise on social media posts); and application of the corresponding penalty”, reads the complaint.
If it can be proved that the post is indeed a forgery, intended to damage the reputation of Egidio Vaz, the PGR is faced with the problem of identifying the real author.
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