Mozambique: Family of woman run over by armoured vehicle is concerned about opportunists – Carta

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Mozambique: Family of woman run over by armoured vehicle is concerned about opportunists – Carta

5:02 CAT | 29 Nov 2024

Image: Carta

Her name is Maria Madalena Matusse. She is 29 years old, from Calanga Administrative Post, Manhiça district, Maputo province, and has lived in Maputo’s Maxaquene neighbourhood with her husband for over five years.

This is the young woman who was brutally run over by a Military Police BTR on Wednesday (27), during the demonstrations on Eduardo Mondlane Avenue, in the centre of the Mozambican capital.

According to her husband, Julião Silvestre Chihugule, Maria left home as usual to go to work, but, due to the situation in the country, ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Maria is described by her husband as a strong and courageous woman. She works as a day labourer in one of the companies located on 24 de Julho Avenue, on the corner of Filipe Samuel Magaia Avenue. Visibly shaken, and in a very busy hospital environment, due to the “coming and going” of several people who want to visit his wife, Chihugule reports that the patient’s condition is progressing well, although there are some restrictions.

“She suffered a lot in her head, due to the way she fell. When the anaesthetic wore off, she started complaining of headache. At the moment, she has difficulty eating, so our concern is to offer her light foods, such as soup, porridge and juices,” he said.

“To this day, I cannot explain exactly what happened to her. I myself was surprised when I received a call informing me of what had happened and, moments later, I started seeing videos of the accident circulating on social media, which increased the shock. I haven’t been able to hear from her yet how everything happened, because she hasn’t been able to fully understand what happened and she doesn’t speak coherently, which indicates that she has some kind of memory problem,” he stressed.

Chihugule said that his wife has been out of danger since Wednesday night. The doctors managed to stabilize her condition, but he believes it was very lucky that the BTR ran her over without causing more serious damage.

“Maria Madalena is a happy young woman and I believe that everything will be fine. I hope she recovers as quickly as possible. She wasn’t at the protests – I believe she ended up in that place trying to find a way to get home after work,” he said

During our presence at the Maputo Central Hospital to talk to Chihugule, his wife received visits from military personnel three times.

“Early in the morning, they came here to bring my wife breakfast, without first asking about her health condition. They brought some dry food, but unfortunately she couldn’t eat it. A few hours later, another group of military showed up and wanted to take some photos of my wife, claiming it was for some work, but I didn’t allow it. And at around 12:00, another group of four members of the military came to deliver lunch, this time a lighter meal, since she has difficulty chewing,” Chihugule recounts.

“So far they are providing good assistance,” the husband continues. “I just don’t know how far it will go. One curious fact is that I received a strange call from people who claimed to be from the Department of Justice and Human Rights. I don’t know what they want to discuss, but I’m not very comfortable with the fact that my wife is attracting a lot of attention, including from people who have been asking for support on her behalf and even sharing an unknown phone number to channel this support.”

It should be noted that, hours after the incident, a supposed fundraising campaign in support of the victim circulated on social media. “878458204, the number of the young woman who was deliberately run over by the police while protesting today [Wednesday] in Maputo. Her name is Maria Matisse. The contact number is for anyone who wants to help with whatever they can. If you have 50 MT, 100 MT, 200 MT, please help,” reads the message published on the internet.

The family says they do not recognize the campaign and that the contact number given is not that of the victim.

Chihugule also explained that, after the accident, the protesters took advantage of the situation and took his wife’s cell phone.

Meanwhile, he hopes that she will not see the video of the accident as soon as she leaves hospital.

“My concern is that she doesn’t watch that video right now, because I believe it could cause psychological trauma. Even now, it’s clear that she’s not well, especially in her head, and I can’t even imagine the shock she’ll feel when she sees the video,” Chihugule explains.

In addition to the military, the victim’s husband explains, members of civil society organizations have been present at the HCM, providing support to Maria Madalena Matusse, and there is even a lawyer who has offered to provide legal assistance to the victim, free of charge.

On the other hand, the director of the Emergency Room at Maputo Central Hospital, Dino Lopes, stated that, fortunately, the patient is out of danger, but will still need to remain hospitalized for a few days.

“The young woman was in a serious condition due to a decreased level of consciousness and suffered head injuries, according to the Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, but no surgery was necessary. She will probably be discharged within a week,” said the doctor.

Lopes also explained that the HCM received six patients, victims of different traumas caused by the demonstrations last Wednesday, of which five have already been discharged, with only the young woman run over on Avenida Eduardo Mondlane remaining hospitalised.

By Marta Afonso

Source: Carta de Moçambique