Mozambique: Maputo province detects two cases of cholera
The CIP director has reported death threats by strangers which may be related to his work. Civil society members and magistrates consulted by DW Africa warn of a general climate of intimidation.
On Tuesday (3/12), the director of the Mozambique’s Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), Edson Cortez, reported that he was the subject death threats uttered by strangers, possibly related to his criticisms in the “hidden debts” case. There is a long list of activists, analysts and even magistrates who have received threats for their work. Mozambican civil rights organisations, however, swear that they will not be intimidated.
“I don’t think civil society will disappear, because if it disappears, society will cease to evolve,” said Jorge Matine, executive director of the Budget Monitoring Forum (FMO).
But Matine emphasises that the situation is “serious”, because freedom is at stake. “If it is not with words, an open dialogue, with the participation of all, we are in serious danger of going back to a past which no Mozambican wants,” he says.
Inadmissible threats
On Sunday (1.12), the Mozambican Association of Magistrates also reported death threats against Freddy Jamal, a public prosecutor in Nampula in northern Mozambique.
In an interview with DW Africa, the association’s president, Carlos Mondlane, said that it was unacceptable that those responsible for administering justice were being threatened.
“This is something which we cannot tolerate, as a state, and we will make every effort to prevent such situations from occurring,” he said.
In 2014, Judge Dinis Silica was murdered while presiding over several abduction cases in Maputo. In 2016, prosecutor Marcelino Vilanculos was also assassinated while investigating kidnappings in the city. And, according to Carlos Mondlane, justice officials are still threatened.
It is a phenomenon which needs to be addressed, he says. “If a magistrate is safe, he is better able to settle disputes brought before him and thus to serve justice. But a magistrate subject to conditions turns out to be pernicious to the justice system itself.”
More security
Mondlane has asked the Government to strengthen magistrates’ security, even if this means creating a dedicated police force.
Jorge Matine of the Budget Monitoring Forum fears that the country may be taking a number of risks if the threats issue is not tackled. The state may be weakened, he says.
“What may happen is that there is more radicalisation, and extremist groups will take advantage of these positions. And where that has happened in other societies, development has been held back,” Matine says.
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.