Cabo Delgado: Kidnapped farmers released
DW / Madimba police commander’s house, set on fire by the mob
A crowd in Mandimba, Niassa province, went on the rampage yesterday after a money changer was killed on Sunday in an event they suspected involved the police.
The money changer was killed early Sunday morning (01.10) in the Mandimba district on the Malawi border. The attackers are assumed to have made off with a quantity of money.
Residents accuse the police of being involved in the attack.
“According to the family, there was a man in police uniforms in the group [of attackers],” one district resident said.
Dozens of people then took to the streets in response. They invaded and burned down the official residence of the Mandimba police commander and set fire to two police vehicles.
“The fury of the Mandimba population ended in the early hours invading the PRM district building on the suspicion that some members of the police are involved in the crime wave” affecting the businesspeople and economic agents of the municipal village of Mandimba, a source claimed.
Police reinforce security measures
The police have not so far commented on the accusations, Niassa Provincial Police Commander Aguilasse Mada limiting himself to remarks about the damage caused and assurances that the matter was being investigated.
The people heading for the district command “claimed that police did not take any preventive measures and that after the occurrence [murder of moneychanger] were unable to clarify the case”. The commander said however that “the PRM was still making efforts to locate the offenders and hold them accountable for their actions”.
Mada said that “the demonstration lasted a long time, eventually vandalising the commander’s own house and burning two vehicles”, but did not say if there were any injuries.
In addition, and because “the situation was a bit chaotic,” the police dispatched “a force to Mandimba district to restore public order. We asked the border police stationed in that district to join the district command in order to calm down protesters and this happened,” he confirmed.
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