Journalist’s house attacked by suspected police officers, his 15-year old son beaten – Barue, Mozambique

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Journalist’s house attacked by suspected police officers, his 15-year old son beaten – Barue, Mozambique

9:32 CAT | 09 Dec 2016

Voa / John Chekwa

A group of masked, armed men, suspected of being members of the government forces, stormed the residence of journalist John Chekwa in Catandica, Barue, Manica, central Mozambique on Wednesday morning, beating and attempting to abduct his son.

Chekwa, who works for Catandica Community Radio and the MASC (Civil Society Support Mechanism) Foundation, was not at home at the time, and is in hiding as a result of threats he has received.

During the operation, the group brutally assaulted Chekwa’s son and a friend, both 15 years old, to extract from them Chekwa’s whereabouts.

“They arrived in a black Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) Mahindra vehicle, broke through the main door and searched the house. They caught the boys and started beating them, asking where I was,” the journalist told VOA.

Chekwa said the two boys were taken to the vehicle and chained to other civilian detainees there while the group made further attempts to locate the journalist.

“At this point the boys managed to escape. They hid temporarily in an abandoned building and then came to meet me,” Chekwa said, adding that the boys are in good health but were very frightened.

The journalist has no doubt that this attack is yet another chapter in the persecution that he has been subjected to recently, supposedly because he gives space in the radio station to voices of dissent. The region has recently been the scene of violent clashes between government forces and the armed wing of opposition party Renamo.

“It’s all because of the work I do for the community. I give a voice to those who have no voice and the government has accused the radio of favouring the opposition in Barue. This is the reason for this persecution,” the journalist says, claiming that he is now in a safe hiding place, with all his family.

The journalist has been the target of several lawsuits for denouncing cases of corruption among local leaders and members of the ruling party.

The Mozambican police deny having participated in any action against the journalist, adding that the incident mentioned had not been reported to the authorities. Leonardo Colher, head of the Public Relations Department in the Manica Police Command, said: “I just spoke to the Barue district commander and he said it was a lie.”

“He [the Barue District Commander] even asked for the journalist’s name so he could get more information because he finds it very strange that such a thing happened. He even questioned the black Mahindra, because the district does not have black Mahindras,” he said.

The Mozambican chapter of the Southern African Social Communications Institute (MISA) has already denounced the attack on the journalist’s residence, saying the action was a serious threat to freedom of the press and expression.

Last week, MISA Mozambique condemned anonymous death threats to journalist António Zefanias, director of the newspaper Diário da Zambézia, demanding that the authorities investigate the case.

Source: Voa Portugues