Mozambique: Death toll in post election protests rises to 327 – NGO

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Mozambique: Death toll in post election protests rises to 327 – NGO

9:10 CAT | 05 Feb 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

At least 27 people have died in the last 20 days during protests in Mozambique, bringing the number of deaths during the post-election demonstrations since 21 October to 327, the Decide Platform told Lusa on Wednesday.

According to the report by the Mozambican non-governmental organisation (NGO) that monitors the electoral processes, with data from the last 20 days, seven people have died in Maputo province, two in Maputo city, eight in Zambézia, two in Sofala, one in Tete, five in Nampula and two in Cabo Delgado.

In the first five days of February alone, the Decide electoral platform counted 174 detentions, of which 32 in Maputo city and province, 18 in Nampula, 37 in Sofala, four in Tete, one in Manica, six in Zambézia and one in Cabo Delgado.

Speaking to Lusa, Wilker Dias, director of the Decide Platform, explained that, at this stage, the demonstrators have given various reasons for remaining on the streets.

“Most of the demonstrations are about the cost of living,” but there are also situations “because of this phenomenon that has been occurring at district level, with the persecution of community leaders, who end up being victimised by the demonstrators themselves,” he said.

The Mozambican public prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday that it had opened a total of 651 criminal and civil cases during the post-election crisis, promising that all situations that have resulted in deaths will receive the justice system’s attention.

“We want to ensure that all situations that resulted in death, bodily harm or destruction of property, arising from the violent demonstrations, deserve and will deserve due treatment, with the launch of the appropriate procedures to identify the perpetrators, determine the circumstances and other elements for accountability,” declared Mozambique’s attorney general, Américo Julião Letela, during the opening of the judicial year in Maputo.

Source: Lusa