Mozambique: Senior officials caught violating state of emergency – AIM report

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Mozambique: Senior officials caught violating state of emergency – AIM report

4:20 CAT | 07 May 2020

Photo: O País

People caught violating the restrictions on gatherings imposed under Mozambique’s state of emergency include senior officials in the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare.

On Wednesday, the independent television station STV caught the Maputo City delegation of the Ministry holding a farewell party for the outgoing director. There was wine, cake, and a wide variety of other food and drink, which STV believed was financed out of state funds. It was all entirely illegal since such festivities are outlawed under the state of emergency. They are regarded as a possible means of transmission for the coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 respiratory disease.

Even funerals may not be attended by more than 20 people as long as the state of emergency lasts – yet STV discovered more than that number in the basement of a local crèche waiting to tuck into the food and drink of the farewell party. According to reports on social media, Maputo judges and prosecutors were among the guests.

The master of ceremonies had begun to make his speech, when guests noticed the presence of the television crew and the police. They began to slink away, but some were cornered by STV. None would give a straight answer when asked what they were doing at an illegal party. The footage of the seated guests showed no attempt to ensure social distancing.

The police made no arrests among the guests, who were allowed to leave in their state-owned cars, but they promised to charge the owner of the crèche with the crime of disobedience.

“There was indeed a scenario of disobedience”, a police spokesperson told reporters.”We checked that inside the room there were many more people than recommended, and so we told them to disperse”.

In the central city of Beira, according to the daily paper “Noticias”, the police on Tuesday arrested 11 drivers of the minibuses (known as “chapas”) that provide much of the city’s passenger transport for violating state of emergency regulations. They had either packed an excessive number of passengers into their vehicles or were not wearing face masks.

Police and municipal officials visited formal and informal markets in the city warning stallholders that they must wear masks and must obey social distancing. The Mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango, said there is resistance by some citizens to wearing masks, but warned that measures will be taken to discourage people from challenging the state of emergency rules.

In the northern city of Nampula, the authorities have resorted to the police to control the queue of people seeking access to Nampula Central Hospital, supposedly to visit hospitalised relatives. STV reported on several occasions last week that there was no orderly queue and people were simply milling round in front of the hospital, without the slightest sign of social distancing.

The hospital said that, since the queue was not on hospital premises, the responsibility lay with the Nampula Municipal Council and not with the hospital management.

The decision to send in the police followed a visit by the Secretary of State for Nampula Province, Mety Gondola, who inaugurated two disinfection tunnels at the access to the hospital.

The police will no longer allow people to hang around the hospital, or to spend the night on the pavement outside the hospital. They also removed the informal traders who had added to the disorderly crowd at the hospital entrance.

Source: AIM