{"id":48309,"date":"2023-10-10T20:05:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T20:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says"},"modified":"2023-10-10T20:17:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T20:17:43","slug":"2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says","title":{"rendered":"2019 murder of election observer Anast\u00e1cio Matavel still to be clarified, family says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. <\/strong><\/span>The family of activist Anasta\u0301cio Mata\u0301vel, shot 13 times by police officers in Xai-Xai during the 2019 electoral campaign, say that justice remains to be done, and that they have not given up on finding the \u201cmasterminds\u201d of the crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weapon belongs to the government, the people belong to the government. The weapon left the gate and the people left the gate, so there was no deviation, there is nothing strange. They left the gate legally and so did the weapon,\u201d 65-year-old Ananias Mata\u0301vel, one of Anasta\u0301cio\u2019s three brothers, told Lusa in Xai-Xai.<\/p>\n

Anasta\u0301cio Mata\u0301vel, then executive director of the Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations of Gaza (Fonga) and trainer of election observers, died after being hit by 13 shots fired from an AK-47 type weapon and a pistol on October 7th 2019, eight days before that year\u2019s general elections, in a case that provoked national and international criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was killed because he was correcting the government\u2019s mistakes,\u201d Ananias says, standing in the exact place the vehicle in which his brother was riding came to a halt in 2019, and where he would die.<\/p>\n

In June 2020, the Judicial Court of the Province of Gaza, southern Mozambique, sentenced six police officers to prison terms of between three and 24 years for their involvement in the murder of the activist and election observer, but the state was acquitted, on the grounds that the defendants committed the crime in their own name and in pursuance of their own agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government did not accept responsibility. It says it knows nothing. But we are not satisfied with that,\u201d says the brother, Anata\u0301cio\u2019s elder by three years.<\/p>\n

Even today, in the first electoral campaign to take place since then, Ananias Mata\u0301vel remembers the car \u201criddled\u201d with bullets and finds it difficult to pass the place where his brother died, on the road between the city and the beach.<\/p>\n

Ananias, who is president of the Association for Social Advice and Projects, which he founded with his brother in 1998, confesses that it was pure coincidence he was not in the car that day, when Anasta\u0301cio was returning from an activist meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother died doing what he believed in,\u201d he says, insisting on demanding answers: \u201cOn knowing who ordered it, the government must also take responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

For lack of answers about who \u201cordered\u201d the crime, the family appealed the court\u2019s decision, but says there has been no response so far, hence the appeal \u201cto the honest people, those who are capable of making the matter move forward. I would say that the process is not yet resolved \u2013 it is pending\u201d.<\/p>\n

Of the trial, which he followed every day in court, he recalls that it was \u201cvery quick\u201d: \u201cEverything there was scheduled (…) Nobody was satisfied with the justice system,\u201d is his impression.<\/p>\n

Four years after the murder and more than three years after the court verdict, the family has still not received the compensation laid down. Even the bullet-ridden car was recovered at the widow\u2019s own expense.<\/p>\n

Gaza province, 380 kilometres from the Mozambican capital, is considered a Frelimo bastion. It has overwhelmingly won every election held there since the first ballot in October, 1994.<\/p>\n

But Ananias Mata\u0301vel says he will not give up defending civil society and the people, recognizing that things \u201care changing\u201d in Mozambique, even if \u201clittle by little\u201d, and refusing to be \u201cafraid\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very good defending civil society. And I do, I defend it. I\u2019m not afraid to speak up and put things right,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mozambique<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. The family of activist Anasta\u0301cio Mata\u0301vel, shot 13 times by police officers in Xai-Xai during the 2019 electoral campaign, say that justice remains to be done, and that they have not given up on finding the \u201cmasterminds\u201d of the crime. \u201cThe weapon belongs to the government, the people belong to the government. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":48307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233,281,283],"class_list":["post-48309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mozambique","tag-mozambique"],"yoast_head":"\n2019 murder of election observer Anast\u00e1cio Matavel still to be clarified, family says - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The family of activist Anasta\u0301cio Mata\u0301vel, shot 13 times by police officers in Xai-Xai during the 2019 electoral campai ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2019 murder of election observer Anast\u00e1cio Matavel still to be clarified, family says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The family of activist Anasta\u0301cio Mata\u0301vel, shot 13 times by police officers in Xai-Xai during the 2019 electoral campai ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-10T20:05:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-10T20:17:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2023\/10\/sm_1696956463.651188.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1067\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"2019 murder of election observer Anast\u00e1cio Matavel still to be clarified, family says\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-10T20:05:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-10T20:17:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says\"},\"wordCount\":619,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2023\/10\/sm_1696956463.651188.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Mozambique\",\"Mozambique\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/2019-murder-of-election-observer-anastacio-matavel-still-to-be-clarified-family-says\",\"name\":\"2019 murder of election observer Anast\u00e1cio Matavel still to be clarified, family says - 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