Mozambique: Public prosecutor opens 742 post-election protest crime cases

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Public prosecutor opens 742 post-election protest crime cases

2:37 CAT | 15 Apr 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a total of 742 criminal cases, 31 of which involve members of the police, in connection with the demonstrations that have afflicted Mozambique over the last five months.

The cases aim to “hold the perpetrators and perpetrators criminally accountable, with 385 cases having been concluded, 356 of which were indicted and 29 archived due to insufficient evidence, and 357 are still under investigation,” states an official Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) document to which Lusa had access today.

According to the same source, at least 31 cases involve officers of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), two of whom have already been indicted and the remainder still in the preparatory investigation phase.

Of the total number of cases, the largest number is recorded in the province and city of Maputo, with 230 and 229 cases, respectively, with aggravated robbery being the main crime.

“In addition to the criminal proceedings and in defence of the public interest, nine civil proceedings were instituted, with a view to compensating the State for the damages caused,” the PGR document also reads.

Since October 21, Mozambique has experienced a climate of violent social unrest, with protests, demonstrations and strikes called at first by Venâncio Mondlane, a former presidential candidate who rejects the election results of October 9. Violent clashes between the police and protesters followed, as well as looting and the destruction of public and private facilities.

In addition to the social unrest that the country has seen in the last three months, more than 1,500 inmates have escaped from penitentiaries in various parts of the country, actions that, according to the police and Mozambican authorities, are the responsibility of protesters.

The most serious case of prison escape occurred in Maputo on 25 December, when 1,534 prisoners escaped following riots in the Special Penitentiary of Maximum Security and Maputo Provincial, located around 14 kilometres from the centre of the Mozambican capital.

According to the Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office, at least 35 prisoners lost their lives during the escape, with authorities recapturing 233.

“There were also attacks on prisons in the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia and Gaza, in an action with characteristics of true acts of terrorism,” the Public Prosecutor’s Office document also states, which opened at least six investigations into the matter that are still ongoing.

The unrest that has affected the country in recent months has caused the death of around 390 people, according to non-governmental organisations monitoring the electoral process.

The Mozambican government has previously confirmed at least 80 deaths, in addition to the destruction of 1,677 commercial establishments, 177 schools and 23 health facilities during the protests.

However, on 23 March, Mondlane and President Daniel Chapo of Mozambique met for the first time and a commitment was made to end post-election violence in the country.

Source: Lusa