Mozambique: President dismisses PRM police chief, appoints replacement

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Mozambique: President dismisses PRM police chief, appoints replacement

1:34 CAT | 24 Jan 2025

FILE - Joaquim Adriano Sive has served as provincial commander of the PRM in Sofala, Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces. [File photo: Domingo]

President Daniel Chapo yesterday dismissed Bernardino Rafael from his duties as General Commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), appointing Joaquim Adriano Sive in his place.

In a statement, the Presidency of the Republic declares that the dismissal of Bernardino Rafael, who had been in office since 2017, was made by presidential order, in the exercise of the powers of the head of state.

It adds that the President of the Republic “ordered the promotion” of the deputy commissioner of the Police Joaquim Adriano Sive to the rank of inspector general of the Police, in the class of General Officers.

“Through the same legal provision, the President of the Republic appointed Joaquim Adriano Sive to the position of general commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique,” the statement reads.

Among other functions, Joaquim Adriano Sive has served as provincial commander of the PRM in Sofala, Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces.

In 2019, Sive was suspended from his position as provincial commander of the PRM in Nampula by the then Minister of the Interior, Jaime Basílio Monteiro, who also ordered the creation of a commission of inquiry to investigate the tragedy that left 10 dead and dozens injured as they left a Frelimo rally at the 25 de Junho Stadium in that province.

Last year, 2024, Sive again featured in the Mozambican press when he prevented demonstrations from taking place in the city of Beira during Venancio Mondlane’s visit.

Bernardino Rafael was appointed commander of the PRM by then head of state Filipe Nyusi in October 2017 and reappointed to the position in 2021.

The actions of the police forces during the last electoral process in Mozambique have been strongly criticized by civil society. The corporation was also targeted by the demonstrations following the general elections of October 9, with more than 40% of its infrastructure destroyed or vandalized in the protests, the now-dismissed commander-general previously told Lusa.

The new Mozambican interior minister said in Maputo on Wednesday that the population ought not to be afraid of the police, highlighting the restoration of the people’s trust as one of the corporation’s priorities.

“The population cannot be afraid of us; the citizen cannot be afraid of us. As I said, in principle, the citizen must be the starting and finishing point of our activities; he must be at the centre,” Paulo Chachine said in statements to the police force at the Ministry of the Interior in his first public speech after being sworn into office on Saturday by the new President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo.

The minister argued that the actions of the force must be aligned with the aspirations of the communities, asking that police institutions be places of “welcoming and problem-solving” and that they promote a harmonious relationship “guided by transparency”.

“It is our duty and mission to restore the trust of the people, of the population, of the citizen (…). They must be at the centre of our activities; we cannot distance ourselves from them because they are what we need to effectively and efficiently fulfil our mission,” said the minister.

On Tuesday, former Mozambican presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called on the people to form an “autonomous court” and issue “sentences” against the police, alleging a “macabre wave” of “summary executions” had taken place without the intervention of the authorities.

The position appears in a document, which Mondlane calls a “decree”, with 30 measures for the next 100 days. One of them states that “it is up to the people, the victims, to establish themselves as an autonomous court that issues sentences to stop the macabre wave of the UIR, GOE and Sernic”, referring to PRM units that he accuses of “incessant blaze of summary executions”, following the post-election demonstrations, which have already caused more than 300 deaths and seen over 600 non-fatal shootings since October 21 of last year.

Source: Lusa / Voa Português