Mozambique Elections: Wilker Dias denounces attempted murder – Watch

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Mozambique Elections: Wilker Dias denounces attempted murder – Watch

4:30 CAT | 09 Dec 2024

Screen grab: Wilker Dias / Facebook

The social activist and coordinator of the Decide electoral monitoring platform, Wilker Dias, said on Sunday that he was the victim of an attempted murder by poisoning in Maputo on Friday.

Rumours to this effect had been circulating on social media, and were confirmed by the activist himself in a video published on his Facebook page.

A few days ago, Wilker Dias filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) against the General Commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, Bernardino Rafael, and the Minister of the Interior, Pascoal Ronda, over police violence during recent demonstrations.

According to Wilker Dias, the poison used in Friday’s attempted murder ( arsenic, an extremely toxic and poisonous white compound) was put in his mineral water.

“The incident [the attempted murder] occurred last Friday. After drinking mineral water, I started to feel unwell and three young people intervened, providing first aid and helping me recover and even expelling some of what I had already ingested,” he said.

Wilker Dias claims that the poison was detected in the hospital, where he was taken after the incident. “I received hospital care, where they detected traces of arsenic in considerable quantities, which is a type of toxin that, when placed in water, can cause damage and even death.”

The activist did not specify the location where the poisoning occurred or the hospital where he was treated. However, unconfirmed information indicates that Wilker Dias suffered the aforementioned attempted murder in a hotel resort in Maputo. ‘Carta’ was unable to speak to the activist.

“I am fine, the fight continues and we will continue to defend human rights. As they say, I have seven lives, there were two and I have five. I still have the strength to keep fighting. Let’s do it, brothers,” he argued in the video lasting just over 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Wilker Dias is has been at the forefront of defending human rights in the context of the popular demonstrations called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane. DECIDE also denounced the attempted kidnapping of its communications officer in Beira on Saturday.

Data compiled by DECIDE, which in October interrupted a session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to warn about violations of human rights in Mozambique in the electoral context and to protest against the murder of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, indicate that at least 103 people have died since October 21 as a result of the demonstrations.

Source: Carta de Moçambique