Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican journalists marched in Maputo on Monday (18-12) against a perceived “impunity” regarding crimes targeting members of the press, a demonstration culminating in the submission of a petition to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
“We left a petition asking for strong action from the Public Prosecutor’s Office in relation to crimes against media professionals,” declared Jeremias Langa, president of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Moçambique), the non-governmental organisation that called for the march.
The march was also called to demand clarification in the death of João Chamusse, a Mozambican journalist and television commentator who was killed on Thursday at his home in Maputo in circumstances that have not yet been clarified.
“We left another document, which is a criminal complaint against persons unknown (…) Fundamentally, we came here to appeal to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to exercise its duties as holder of criminal sanction, and let us carry out serious investigations that allows us to reach the material truth,” Langa said.
Singing songs praising freedom of expression and the press, the group walked approximately two kilometres from Vladimir Lenine Avenue to the PGR, shouting in unison, “Chamusse, your voice will not be silenced”, in tribute to the deceased journalist.
João Chamusse, 59 years old, was found dead on Thursday in the backyard of his residence, in Nsime, Maputo province, his naked body sporting a wound on the back of his head.
On Friday, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) announced the arrest of a 44-year-old neighbour on suspicion of murder.
A commercial pilot trained at the Lisbon Aeronautical School, Chamusse was the editorial director of the electronic newspaper “Ponto por Ponto” and a television commentator known for his critical, ironic and at times humorous approach to domestic political issues.
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