Watch: Head of Renamo in Sofala Provincial Assembly murdered in Beira – Mozambique

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Watch: Head of Renamo in Sofala Provincial Assembly murdered in Beira – Mozambique

8:29 CAT | 31 Oct 2016

Unknown assailants on Sunday night gunned down a senior official of Mozambique’s main opposition party, the rebel movement Renamo, in the central city of Beira, according to a report carried by the independent television station, STV.

The victim, Juma Ramos, was head of the Renamo group in the Sofala Provincial Assembly, and also Renamo’s head of mobilisation in Beira.

He was shot at about 20.00 at the informal stall he owned in the Beira neighbourhood of Palmeiras II. He died on the spot. According to witnesses, two armed men emerged from a car and shot Juma at point blank range.

Renamo holds a majority of seats in the Sofala Assembly. The Assembly chairperson, Carlitos Viano, also a Renamo member condemned the assassination, and blamed it on the “death squads”, which Renamo claims the government has organized to eliminate its opponents.

Members of the two other forces represented in the Assembly, the ruling Frelimo Party, and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) also condemned the murder and expressed condolences for Juma’s family.

This murder occurred less than 24 hours after Renamo gunmen kidnapped and assassinated two Frelimo circle secretaries, Arao Chiguemane and Antonio Macurreia, in Mutua, about 50 kilometres west of Beira. The murder of Juma may well be viewed as a revenge killing.

A third circle secretary in Mutua, Bernardo Gimo, was injured in the attack, but survived and is currently undergoing treatment in Beira central hospital. (In Frelimo’s internal organization, the circle is the level immediately above the branch).