Mozambique: MISA demands end to impunity for crimes against journalists – AIM report

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Mozambique: MISA demands end to impunity for crimes against journalists – AIM report

9:01 CAT | 04 Nov 2021

Photo courtesy: MISA Moçambique

The Mozambican chapter of the regional press freedom body MISA (Media Institute of Southern Africa), on Tuesday demanded that those who organise attacks against journalists should be held responsible for their actions.

At a round table held to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, MISA pointed in particular to the arson attack against the offices of the weekly paper “Canal de Mocambique” in Maputo in 2020, and the apparent kidnapping of journalist Ibraimo Mbaruco, of the Palma Community Radio, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, in April of that year.

Since the day of his disappearance, nothing has been heard of Mbaruco, and it is not known whether he is alive or dead.

The chairperson of MISA-Mozambique, Fernando Gonçalves, told the round table “the only way of putting an end to crimes against journalists is to ensure that those who commit these crimes are not rewarded through impunity”.

He thought it “inconceivable” that, 19 months after the disappearance of Mbaruco, the Mozambican authorities have not shown any concrete steps taken to clear up this kidnapping.

Journalist Lazaro Mabunda said the authorities seemed to take no interest in the matter. “The disappearance of a citizen should not be a matter of concern only for his family of for an NGO”, he stressed. “It has to be a concern of the state, which is the defender of citizens. Immediately after the disappearance, the state should have been concerned to clear the matter up. But the will to do so does not exist”.

The ombudsman, Isaque Chande, said that all sectors of society should be involved in the fight to end impunity. He stressed the key role of journalism in monitoring government activity, and pledged that his office will continue to cooperate with MISA and other civil society bodies to promote the freedoms of expression and of the press.

Source: AIM