Attack on Agostinho Vuma: “Nobody is immune to being shot” in Mozambique

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Attack on Agostinho Vuma: “Nobody is immune to being shot” in Mozambique

4:29 CAT | 14 Jul 2020

Photo: DW

The chorus of voices condemning the attack on the President of the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA), Agostinho Vuma, continues to swell, with the body’s Vice President of Communication tying the frequency of attacks to a prevailing climate of impunity.

Agostinho Vuma, remains hospitalised and in a serious condition at the Instituto do Coração in Maputo.

After visiting Vuma on Monday afternoon (13.07), Minister of Industry and Commerce Carlos Mesquita told reporters that the Frelimo deputy was responding well to medication and had come out of a critical situation.

The chairman of the Mozambican employers’ confederation was shot on Saturday by persons unknown outside his office in the centre of the Mozambican capital.

The National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) said on Monday that it was working towards a speedy clarification of the case. “SERNIC was at the scene, collected all possible evidence, and, armed with that, is working to locate the individuals behind this criminal action,” SERNIC spokesman Hilário Lole said, adding that he could not provide any further information but would do so as soon as possible.

But police spokesman in the city of Maputo, Leonel Muchina, did have some details. “There are two establishments with video surveillance, and we have witness statements that will be key for the clarification of this case,” he said. “About threats,” he added, the police did not have any “official reports”.

Does impunity lead to an increase in cases?

The Mozambican Police Association said that police authorities should once again deploy their investigative skills and make it clear that there is no room for crime in Mozambique.

Drawing his conclusions from the current case, analyst and deputy-president of the Communication Department at the Confederation of Economic Associations, Fernando Lima, said: “In this country, no one is immune to being attacked or shot, just as no one is immune to being robbed.”

Fernando Lima observed that this type of attack was happening more and more frequently, with motives ranging from robbery to extortion, along with the settling of old scores and more hot-blooded motivations. “The reasons are vast and diverse, which shows exactly that there is great impunity in relation to this type of attacks,” he said.

After the recent trial concerning the murder of social activist Anastácio Matavele, in which only those who carried out the crime were convicted, Lima is not optimistic about the accountability of those responsible for the attack on Agostinho Vuma. “I have little hope that we will get to the bottom of who is, in fact, behind the assassination attempt,” he said.

By: Leonel Matias

Source: Deutsche Welle