Mozambique: Former president Chissano condemns “heinous crime”

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Mozambique: Former president Chissano condemns “heinous crime”

3:01 CAT | 22 Oct 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Fundação Joaquim Chissano]

Former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano yesterday expressed his “deep indignation and repudiation” of the murder of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe in Maputo on Friday night, describing it as a “heinous crime”.

“This act of brutal violence, which tarnishes the image of our country, is an attack on human life that is unacceptable and goes against the principles and values of dignity, respect and justice that we defend and that should sustain our society,” Joaquim Chissano says in a press release.

The Mozambican police confirmed to Lusa on Saturday that Elvino Dias, lawyer for Venâncio Mondlane, candidate for the 9 October presidential elections, and Paulo Guambe, leader of Podemos, the party that supports him, were shot dead in an “ambush” on Avenida Joaquim Chissano, in the centre of the capital.

The note released by the Joaquim Chissano Foundation, of which the former President (6 November 1986 – 2 February 2005) is a patron, stresses that “this and other heinous crimes” contribute “to creating a feeling of insecurity and undermining the will to work for the well-being of Mozambicans”.

Chissano urges the authorities “to redouble their efforts” to clarify “as soon as possible” the crime, which he describes as “macabre”. The former head of state says that the process must result in the perpetrators being held legally accountable “with severe and dissuasive measures that help prevent future cases of violence, murders and kidnappings”.

“Peace, security, tranquillity and the guarantee of protection for all citizens are common values and assets that we must all preserve at all costs and at all times,” Chissano stresses.

Concluding the note of repudiation, Joaquim Chissano expresses his condolences to the families and friends of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe and reaffirms the Foundation’s commitment to “continue to promote and fight for a more just and safe society, where everyone can live in peace and security and without fear of violence of any kind”.

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