Africa-Press – Mozambique. Relatives of those detained in Maputo during demonstrations against the results of the local elections complained outside Kampfumo court on Monday about the “inhumane conditions” in Mozambican police cells, demanding the release of the protesters.
“My three children are detained and they have not eaten anything since Friday,” Ana Alberto told Lusa. She is the mother of three young men who were among the dozens of people detained in the Mozambican capital on Friday during protests promoted by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) to contest the results of the October 11th municipal elections.
Next to Ana, Manuel Raul also waits impatiently at the door of the Kampfumo Judicial Court for news about his teenage nephew, whose situation is more complex.
“He’s 17 years old and he told me that, in fact, he wasn’t even at the demonstration – he was at the bus stop, waiting for the bus,” Manuel Raul told Lusa.
“The situation is serious. We had the opportunity to talk to them and saw the place where they are. They are being forced to eat in the same space where they relieve themselves. Some have serious health problems and no assistance is being provided to them,” said Quitéria Guirengane, a Mozambican who is among the civil society activists that came together to provide legal assistance to the detainees.
Thousands of people took part in a march called by Venâncio Mondlane, the leader in Maputo municipality of Mozambique’s largest opposition party, who claims to have won the election and alleges an electoral “mega fraud”.
The protesters, including Renamo supporters and informal traders, were trying to proceed along Avenida 24 de Julho when the confusion began, with authorities firing tear gas and the crowd throwing stones at police officers.
In a press conference on the same day, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) justified its response and arrests with the need to maintain “public order and tranquillity”, noting that protesters threw objects and vandalised infrastructure.
For Ana Alberto, the police’s justification for arresting her children doesn’t count for much, since, she emphasises, “they are not thieves”.
“My boys are informal sellers. There is one who has two children and his wife is at home waiting for her husband to return. He’s in business to earn money to buy diapers. And now…?” asks Ana Alberto, adding that she even reported her three children missing.
With no news about the situation of the detainees, who were due to be presented in court yesterday, efforts to support them are multiplying among activists and individuals, in addition to Renamo itself.
Data provided by the authorities indicate that there are over 100 people detained in various parts of the country, especially in the cities of Nampula, Nacala-Porto and Maputo, where the demonstrations and skirmishes took place, and criminal proceedings are underway “for the damage caused and the destabilisation of public order” in those municipalities.
The main opposition party has been promoting marches to contest the results of the October 11 elections, bringing together thousands of people to denounce the alleged ballot “mega-fraud”.
The sixth municipal elections in Mozambique took place in 65 municipalities across the country on October 11, including 12 new municipalities, which went to vote for the first time.
The results presented by Mozambique’s CNE indicate a victory for the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), the party in power, in 64 of the country’s 65 municipalities, while the MDM, the third largest party, won only in Beira.
Under Mozambican electoral legislation, the results of the ballot still have to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council (CC).
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