Mozambique: 200 escape from Gorongosa district prison

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Mozambique: 200 escape from Gorongosa district prison

1:29 CAT | 04 Feb 2025

Screen grab: Magazine S.O.S./Facebook

A total of 200 inmates escaped from the district prison in Gorongosa, in Sofala province on Sunday, said the local administrator, who blamed a group of demonstrators who were protesting against the cost of living.

The escape occurred around 9:00 a.m., after the police dispersed a group of motorcycle taxi drivers and miners who were trying to gather to protest against the high cost of living, Gorongosa district administrator Pedro Mussengue told Lusa.

Mussengue said that the individuals then went to the district prison and “made the inmates leave”.

“We went there to talk to them and they claimed that the cost of living was too high,” he said. According to the source, despite some commotion in the morning, the atmosphere was calm in the afternoon and, he said, no arrests were made.

“We are focusing on raising awareness among the people (…), because emotions lead to bad feelings (…). There was no need to arrest or shoot people (…). The Defence and Security Forces, with all their skill, managed to calm the mood,” he said.

Mozambique has been enduring a post-electoral crisis since October, with protests and strikes often culminating in violent clashes with the police. Demonstrators reject the results of the October 9 elections and are also protesting about other social problems. There have been at least 315 deaths and around 750 people have suffered gunshot wounds during the protests, according to civil society organizations monitoring events.

This is not the first time Mozambican authorities have held demonstrators responsible for prison escapes. On December 25 of last year, 1,534 inmates escaped after riots in Maputo Provincial Maximum Security Penitentiary, located about 14 kilometres from Maputo.

At the time, the then commander-general of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, called this a “premeditated action” and the responsibility of post-election protesters.

“Making noise, in their demonstrations, demanding that they be able to remove the prisoners who are serving their sentences there,” described Bernardino Rafael, adding that this action caused unrest inside the prison, which led to the collapse of a wall, enabling the escape, despite the “immediate confrontation” with the prison guards.

On the same day, according to the police, similar rebellions were recorded in the Manhiça Prison, north of Maputo province, where the protesters freed the prisoners, and in the Mabalane Prison, which recorded an escape attempt.

Source: Lusa