Mozambique: Mondlane supporter Joel Amaral “still in intensive care, recovering well” – Watch

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Mozambique: Mondlane supporter Joel Amaral “still in intensive care, recovering well” – Watch

9:17 CAT | 15 Apr 2025

Screen grab: Txopela

Joel Amaral, a supporter of former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane was on Monday in “intensive care and recovering well” after being shot in Quelimane, central Mozambique, a hospital source said yesterday.

“He is currently in intensive care and is progressing well, conscious, communicative, has already received a visit from his family and we are awaiting his clinical recovery,” said Palmira Nascimento, spokesperson for Quelimane Central Hospital, where the politician and one of Venâncio Mondlane’s mobilisers is hospitalised.

Joel Amaral, a musician and author of songs that mobilised Mondlane’s supporters in the municipal (2023) and then presidential (2024) election campaigns, was shot on Sunday in the Cualane 2 neighbourhood, in the city of Quelimane, Zambezia province.

The Quelimane Central Hospital confirmed an injury to Joel Amaral’s scalp after he was shot, but hospital examinations showed that the bullet did not reach the bone in his skull, according to figures released on Monday by the health unit.

“The injury was simply at the level of the scalp. He was taken to the operating theatre where an exhaustive, thorough cleaning was carried out and no bullet was found,” said Palmira Nascimento.

Venâncio Mondlane, who arrived in Quelimane yesterday to visit the victim, on Sunday categorised the incident as another case of “political intolerance”.

“It is with deep sadness and indignation that I confirm the news about the shooting of our national mobiliser Joel Amaral, affectionately known as MC Trufafa,” described Venâncio Mondlane in a message on his official Facebook account.

READ: Mozambique: Mondlane supporter victim of murder attempt – AIM report

Mozambique: MC Trufafa’s shooting is an “affront to democracy” – Chapo

Mozambique: MC Trufafá, one of Mondlane’s main mobilizers, shot in Quelimane – Watch

Shortly after the 2024 general elections, Venâncio Mondlane’s legal advisor, the well-known lawyer Elvino Dias, and the head of Podemos, Paulo Cuambe, the party supporting his presidential candidacy, were shot dead on the night of 18 October in an ambush on the car they were travelling in in the centre of Maputo, with machine-gun fire, in a crime that caused a stir in Mozambican society and still remains to be clarified.

“It’s time to unite against violence and oppression, and to demand a Mozambique where everyone can live in safety and dignity. The struggle for justice and peace is the responsibility of all of us, and we cannot allow fear and intolerance to prevail,” he said.

Mozambican president, Daniel Chapo, described the shooting of Joel Amaral as an “affront to democracy” and called for a full investigation into the crime.

“We received the news of the shooting of musician and politician Joel Amaral with deep concern. This act of gratuitous violence is not only an attack on a citizen who contributes his knowledge and dedication to our country, but also an affront to democracy and the principles of the rule of law, which we must all protect,” said the head of state.

Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the results of the general elections on 9 October that gave victory to Daniel Chapo, who was sworn in as Mozambique’s fifth President in January, has since 21 October called for protests that, in five months, have caused around 390 deaths in clashes with the police, according to data from civil society organisations, and have also degenerated into looting and the destruction of businesses and public infrastructure.

However, on 23 March, Mondlane and Daniel Chapo met for the first time and a commitment was made to stop the violence in the country.

The Mozambican government previously confirmed at least 80 deaths, as well as the destruction of 1,677 commercial establishments, 177 schools and 23 health centres during the demonstrations.