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Senior figures in Mozambique’s main opposition party, the rebel movement Renamo, in the western province of Tete have refused to attend the funeral of a Renamo member of the Tete Provincial Assembly murdered last week, alleging motives of security, reports Tuesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”.
Armindo Ncuche, head of the economic affairs commission in the Tete Assembly, and Renamo political delegate in Moatize district, was gunned down in broad daylight on Thursday. He was struck by five bullets at about 13.30 as he was going home from a meeting of the Assembly.
Renamo immediately accused the ruling Frelimo party of ordering the assassination. “Renamo is shaken by these killings of its members”, said Felix Quembo, the Renamo Tete provincial delegate. “There is no justification for a member of the Provincial Assembly to be pursued by unknown, masked individuals, and to be riddled with bullets”.
Frelimo denied any connection with the crime. Its Tete Provincial first Secretary, Fernando Bemane, said “Renamo should not make groundless accusations, since it has no proof”.
Neither Quembo, nor other senior Tete members of Renamo, attended Ncuche’s funeral. Quembo told “Mediafax” that this absence was due to lack of security, in the light of constant threats which he and his colleagues say they have received over the telephone since Friday.
“My absence and that of other members from the funeral was not because we didn’t want to go, but because of the lack of security”, said Quembo. “We are receiving calls and text messages from unknown individuals. We met and we decided we should not go to the funeral because the assassins would also be there”.
At the wake for Ncuche, he added, some Renamo members had to abandon the ceremony because they felt a “strange” atmosphere.
The funeral in Moatize went ahead without the local Renamo leadership, attended by Ncuche’s neighbours, religious figures, and other members of the public.
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