Mob lynches man in Tete for “stopping the rain” – Mozambique

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Mob lynches man in Tete for “stopping the rain” – Mozambique

3:31 CAT | 01 Feb 2016

Folha de Maputo

Superstition claimed a life on Wednesday in Tsangano district, in the western province of Tete, where an angry mob lynched a man who was accused of interfering with the weather, and preventing the rains.

Police tried to save the man, whose name AIM has not yet been able to ascertain. But the mob would not be stopped and turned on the police. They damaged a police car, and injured two policemen, who are currently undergoing medical treatment. The protesters also seized a gun from one of the policemen.

The police were able to arrest some individuals said to have incited the lynch mob.

The Tete provincial police command confirmed the incident, and said a team has been sent to Tsangano to investigate the true causes of the lunching. The command found it hard to believe that anyone could take seriously a claim that somebody cast s spell to stop it from raining, since all of Tete is currently suffering the effects of the drought striking southern and central Mozambique.

“We have to investigate this case, since Tete province is drought-stricken”, provincial police spokesperson Luis Nudia said. “Tsangano is not an island”.

This is the first report this year of such murderous superstition, but Nudia promised to investigate to see if there were any other cases of people being accused of stopping the rain.

Source: AIM