Mozambique Elections: Presidential candidate Chapo calls for “swift and impartial” investigation into double homicide

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Mozambique Elections: Presidential candidate Chapo calls for “swift and impartial” investigation into double homicide

11:20 CAT | 19 Oct 2024

Screen grab: Daniel Francisco Chapo/Facebook

Presidential candidate Daniel Chapo, supported by the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), called this Saturday for a “swift and impartial investigation” into the double homicide against two top aides of candidate Venâncio Mondlane, calling it an “affront to democracy”.

“I would like to urge the justice institutions to conduct a swift, impartial, independent and rigorous investigation, with the aim of establishing the facts and holding the perpetrators accountable. Justice must be served. We cannot allow fear to exist in a democratic state governed by the rule of law”, reads Daniel Chapo’s statement, sent to the Lusa news agency.

The Mozambican police confirmed today that the vehicle in which Elvino Dias, lawyer for presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, and Paulo Guambe, leader of Podemos, the party that supports him, were travelling, were shot dead, and a third occupant was injured.

In the statement, Daniel Chapo asked Mozambican lawyers to “firmly” commit to defending fundamental rights and justice, stating that the double homicide should not derail the “construction of a more just and inclusive nation”.

“This act of violence is not only an attack against individuals who are dedicated and committed to their country, but also an affront to democracy and the principles of a democratic state governed by the rule of law, which we must all protect”, reads the document, in which Chapo also calls for “the law to be upheld”.

“I reaffirm my total repudiation of this crime and any type of crime of violence and intolerance in our country, while reiterating my commitment to defending truth and justice as fundamental values for Mozambique and for all Mozambicans”, concluded Daniel Chapo.

Chapod

The crime against Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe took place at around 11:20 pm on Friday, on Avenida Joaquim Chissano, in the center of the capital, and according to the police, another occupant, a woman who was traveling in the back seat of the vehicle, was also shot and taken to Maputo Central Hospital.

Lawyer Elvino Dias, a well-known defender of human rights cases in Mozambique, was the legal advisor to Venâncio Mondlane and the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD), a political group that initially supported the candidate for President of the Republic of Mozambique, until its registration for the elections was rejected by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).

Venâncio Mondlane would later be supported in his candidacy by the Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos) party, whose national representative for the legislative and provincial lists, Paulo Guambe, was also travelling in the vehicle targeted in the crime.

The October 9 elections included the seventh presidential elections – in which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, who has reached the limit of two terms in office, no longer runs – simultaneously with the seventh legislative elections and the fourth for assemblies and provincial governors.

The CNE has 15 days after the polls close to announce the official election results, which is set for October 24. The Constitutional Council will then be responsible for announcing the results, after it has also concluded its analysis of any appeals, but there is no set deadline for this purpose.

The district and provincial election commissions have already completed the vote count, which according to public announcements gives an advantage to the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the ruling party) and the presidential candidate supported by the party, Daniel Chapo, but Venâncio Mondlane contests these results.

The Portuguese government, the European Union and the diplomatic representations in Maputo of the United States of America, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have condemned these murders, calling for a thorough and swift investigation.

Source: Lusa