Mozambique Elections: Gas masks make their debut at Maputo protest – Photos

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Mozambique Elections: Gas masks make their debut at Maputo protest – Photos

8:41 CAT | 03 Nov 2023

All photos: Luisa Nhantumbo/Lusa

After two demonstrations against the local election results marked by the use of tear gas, Renamo (Mozambican National Resistance – the largest opposition party, which claims electoral victory) returned to the streets in the capital today, having prepared the ground by distributing thousands of surgical masks.

“We need to adapt to this new reality, because we don’t know what will happen, how the police will react,” said Marcial Macome, from the Renamo Information Department about the distribution of masks to hundreds of people, some of whom had already arrived prepared to participate in yesterday’s match in the centre of Maputo.

Last Friday, October 27th, in the previous march promoted by the Renamo mayoral candidate Venâncio Mondlane, at least ten people were injured after the police fired tear gas.

“We need to take precautions, we need to take precautions for the people who are here at the march, so that, if there is any need, they can use masks to protect themselves (…) We don’t know how proportional the force that the police will use will be,” Macome added.

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In another Renamo demonstration in Maputo, on October 17, also called “peaceful”, the police used tear gas to contain the thousands of protesters.

Even so, Eugénio Cabiço, 52 years old and a Renamo supporter, did not need the masks distributed by the party, having brought one from work, which he used throughout the march, despite the heat. “It’s to protect myself,” he explained.

He said he was at the capital’s voting tables on October 11th and witnessed the manipulation of the vote count, which according to the National Elections Commission (CNE) gave victory to the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo). Hence, he took to the street this Thursday.

“The people want to restore justice and we want to govern,” he said.

Likewise, 22-year-old Freddy Wamusse reported that he was hit by tear gas last Friday, so yesterday he decided not to take a chance and brought a professional mask from home.

“It’s a way of taking precautions because you don’t know what could happen with the gas,” he admitted, explaining that he joined these protests in order to “peacefully challenge” the electoral results and in “defence” of democracy.

READ: Mozambique Elections: Thousands protest again to demand review of local election results – Watch

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Leaving Praça da Juventude in Bairro Magoanine on the outskirts of Maputo at around 11:00 a.m. local time, thousands of protesters marched for more than four hours towards the centre of the city without incident, escorted by the police. Along the way, they shouted “thieves!” in chorus as they passed Frelimo headquarters, but again, without incident.

Before departing, in addition to the surgical masks, some advice was given.

“We are all for the peaceful, non-violent march. (…) If the police force starts shooting, one of the guidelines we will give is that everyone stays lying on the ground and that the police continue to shoot without anyone doing anything,” Renamo’s Marcial Macome counselled.

On the 18 kilometre march, the masks, which turned out to be unnecessary, did not stop the continuous repetition of the rhetorical question “But who won?”, which gave way to a song sung by everyone in allusion to what is called the electoral “mega-fraud” in the local vote.

Contrary to the two previous marches, there was no police intervention.

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The Renamo candidate dubbed yesterday’s initiative a “Victory March”, but also a “celebration” of the release, following a court order, of 32 young people who had been detained in the previous protest in the capital last Friday.

Fernando Tevane, a 26-year-old street vendor, was one of those detained. He spent four days in jail before being released. Yesterday, with a surgical mask on and a red bow, “for justice”, he took to the streets again alongside the Renamo candidate.

“We were detained there and we didn’t do anything. We didn’t break anything, we didn’t take anything. The police arrested us without any evidence,” he complained.

The sixth municipal elections in Mozambique took place in 65 municipalities across the country on October 11, including in 12 new municipalities, where voting took place for the first time.

Source: Lusa