NGO demands ‘effective investigation’ into post-election killings in Mozambique

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NGO demands ‘effective investigation’ into post-election killings in Mozambique

1:13 CAT | 15 Apr 2025

File photo: Lusa

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday demanded an effective investigation into the deaths that occurred after the Mozambican elections in October last year, regretting that no one has yet been brought to justice.

“The failure of Mozambique’s police to credibly investigate the killings of key opposition members sends a chilling message that the authorities have no interest in bringing those responsible to justice,” said Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

According to the NGO, “prompt, thorough, and effective investigations and fair prosecutions are needed if these apparently politically motivated killings are to stop”.

HRW’s criticism refers to at least 10 people shot dead in Mozambique following last October’s presidential elections: “Unidentified gunmen, some wearing security force uniforms, shot dead at least 10 key opposition party officials from October through March 2025,” the HRW statement reads.

HRW laments that the police “announced investigations into some of the cases but have not identified or arrested any suspects or provided public updates on the status of investigations”.

In the statement, the NGO points to the cases of Elvino Dias, the lawyer for Venâncio Mondlane and the Podemos party, and Paulo Guambe, a Podemos official in Maputo, and says that “they were shot dead,” also recalling that “the other cases, most of them Podemos party officials and supporters, were similar”.

Source: Lusa