Mozambique: 21-year-old dies after he was shot by police in Matola; family demands accountability – Watch

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: 21-year-old dies after he was shot by police in Matola; family demands accountability – Watch

4:06 CAT | 09 Jul 2020

James Anibal Francisco was 21 . Screen grab: Miramar]

Twenty-one-year-old James Anibal Francisco succumbed to injuries he sustained last Friday night in Matola, when he was hit close to his heart by a bullet fired by a PRM agent.

The family is inconsolable and is demanding that the agent involved be held responsible.

The family says that the young man was approached aggressively by police officers on patrol in the neighbourhood of Matola “C” who, for his alleged lack of an ID card to show them, opened fire on him.

For their part, the police say that the victim reacted to their approach in a hostile fashion.

The family of the young man, who died in hospital, is demanding accountability for the shooting, which the Matola Provincial Command admits to but says was accidental.

The Provincial Command acknowledges the error but says the young man, when approached by the police, responded in a hostile manner. According to the same source, the agents were forced to resort to arms, but one agent had handled his weapon improperly, accidentally wounding the victim. The incident, which was condemned by the Police Association, would be subject to judicial process.

Police violence seems to have increased during the state of emergency, with aggression against citizens sometimes ending in death.