Mozambique deports Malawians and increases tension with Lilongwe – Audio

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Mozambique deports Malawians and increases tension with Lilongwe – Audio

4:02 CAT | 14 Apr 2020

FILE- For illustration purposes only. [VOA Portugues]

Last Saturday, Mozambican authorities confiscated the assets of 15 Malawians who had entered Mozambique during its Covid-19 state of emergency, and repatriated them, in a reflection of the tensions that have marked the relations between the two countries in recent years.

The incident occurred in the village of Mecanhelas, Niassa province, where the Malawians had already purchased food products. To make matters worse, three of them apparently had high temperatures, one of the symptoms of Covid-19.

“This is a serious infraction because, from the screening done on the Malawians, it was confirmed that three of them had a temperature above normal, which is one of the symptoms of Covid-19,” the Mecanhelas district administrator said.

Calisto Mussa said the circumstances in which the Malawians entered Mozambique, where a state of emergency is in effect, were under investigation.

The incident occurred shortly after two Mozambicans were murdered in Malawi, a little more than a week ago, accused of bringing Covid-19 into the neighbouring country. The circumstances of the murders remain unclear.

Several similar incidents have been reported. In addition to the murder of the two Mozambicans, there was an incident in which a number of Malawian police officers entered Mozambique territory, where they attacked and detained 11 Mozambican fishermen on Lake Amaramba, in Niassa.

Mucavele says the history of relations between Mozambique and Malawi is difficult, and reflects divergences of a political, economic and social nature.

Professor Sebastião Matusse says that, taking into account these recurring situations, namely the breach of borders by a foreign security force, Mozambique should move towards the tightening of positions, but there are those, such as sociologist Rogério Siteo, who say that, from a strategic and geostrategic point of view, [this] “would be a tremendous mistake”.

Source: VOA Portugues