Mozambique: At least five ‘Naparamas’ killed in Mutuali, Malema district – Watch

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Mozambique: At least five ‘Naparamas’ killed in Mutuali, Malema district – Watch

6:44 CAT | 21 Apr 2025

Photo: Miramar

The Mozambican police killed at least five members of the peasant militia known as the Naparamas in a clash last Wednesday in Mutuali, in Malema district, in the northern province of Nampula.

The police version of the clash came on Saturday in a brief statement which claimed that the Naparamas had been trying to spread a climate of terror in Mutuali.

This statement only came after the Catholic Archbishop of Nampula, Inacio Saure, had described the clash as “a massacre”.

Other sources, cited in Monday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Mediafax”, claimed that the police had lied about the scale of the fighting. These sources alleged that the police had killed 23 people, including both Naparamas and local residents.

The police said the clash arose from an attempt by unidentified assailants to raid a camp of the defence and security forces in Mutuali. “These individuals were armed with machetes and similar weapons”, said Nampula police spokesperson Rosa Chauque. “Five of them were killed and others were injured. We can’t say how many, because their whereabouts unknown”. She added that the police had suffered no casualties.

But the local sources cited by the paper claimed that the police did not allow the wounded to receive any assistance in the local health unit. They also alleged that some of the supposed Naparamas were summarily executed.

Earlier this year, the Naparamas, apparently in alliance with supporters of former presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane, had seized control of Mutuali. According to a report on the independent television station STV, the government only retook control of Mutuali on 2 April.