Africa-Press – Mozambique. On Thursday night, rioters took over the streets of Chibuto and Chokwe, the two main urban centres of the southern province of Gaza, long regarded as a stronghold of the ruling Frelimo Party.
But on Thursday, gangs of young men turned against Frelimo and even burned down Frelimo offices.
Just as in other parts of the country, roads were blocked and shops were looted. At the time of writing, it is not entirely clear why Frelimo support appears to have evaporated in Chokwe and Chibuto.
According to a reporter from the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity, the trouble appears to have started in Chibuto, where the rioting began in the morning and continued into the night.
Police shot some of the rioters, and the local hospital was full o the weeping of people fearful for the fate of their relatives.
The rioters burnt down a discotheque, supposedly belonging to a Frelimo member. Other undertakings destroyed were also said to be connected to the Frelimo elite. For example, a tourist complex belong to Chinese citizens was vandalised because there are rumours that they are partners of Filipe Nyusi. Likewise, a Chinese-owned supermarket was attacked and looted because of a supposed link with the Mayor of Chibuto.
The mayor himself fled from his home, and took refuge in the Chibuto district police command.
That same night, rioters burnt down the Pamodzi complex, which is believed to belong to the family of former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano.
The protesters also broke into the Chibuto jail and released about 80 prisoners. Only eight people, who had already been pardoned for their crimes, opted not to join the escape and stayed in the jail.
In the northern province of Nampula, the headquarters of the coastal administrative post of Moma was set on fire, and images of the charred building circulated on social media.
In Pemba, capital of Cabo Delgado province, rioters attacked a statue of Alberto Chipande, one of the heroes of the Mozambican liberation struggle.
Chipande is credited with firing the first shot in the liberation war, in 1964. He later became the country’s first defence minister, and is a member of the Frelimo Political Committee.
None of this saved his statue. It was torn down and dragged through the streets of Pemba.
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