Mozambique: Renamo demands investigation into Matequenha’s death – AIM report

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Mozambique: Renamo demands investigation into Matequenha’s death – AIM report

4:40 CAT | 29 Dec 2020

Photo: Renamo Moçambique

Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, has called for a serious investigation into the murder of a former Renamo parliamentary deputy, Sofrimento Matequenha.

Renamo leader Ossufo Momade made the call at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Maputo, at which he expressed Renamo’s shock at learning of the brutal murder of Matequenha.

“We were still waiting for an answer after his kidnapping, when we sadly learnt that his body had been found in the bush in Pindanganga (a remote area of Gondola district, in the central province of Manica), with signs of torture,” said Momade. “After this gruesome murder, masterminded by the enemies of peace and of those who think differently, Renamo and Mozambique have lost one of their finest children.”

Also read: Mozambique: Renamo demands police explanations on kidnapping of senior leader

The opposition leader claimed that, according to accounts by members of his family, Matequenha had been kidnapped by men wearing police uniform, who snatched him from his home and rushed him into a police van which drove off at high speed.

Matequenha had also been the Renamo Manica Provincial Delegate. He had enemies in Renamo who accused him of conspiring with the ruling Frelimo Party, and of “selling” Renamo votes.

Also read: Mozambique: Police deny involvement in suspected kidnapping of ex-Renamo MP Sofrimento Matequenha

After the municipal elections of 2018, rioting broke out in Chimoio because Renamo supporters wanted to lynch Matequenha and four other Renamo officials.

The protestors claimed that Matequenha and the others had received 50 million meticais (about 676,000 US dollars, at current exchange rates) to support the appointment of Manuel Macocove as the Renamo mayoral candidate in Chimoio. Macocove was clearly not a consensual choice, and Renamo lost the election to Frelimo.

On a positive note, Momade hailed the outcome achieved so far in implementing the general peace agreement he had signed with President Filipe Nyusi in August 2019. He pointed out that so far 1,509 members of the Renamo militia have been demobilised, including 142 women.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration of Renamo’s forces, because we believe that the environment of peace is fundamental for the promotion of the country’s development and the welfare of the people,” stressed Momade.

He also urged Mariano Nhongo, the leader of the breakaway faction that calls itself the “Renamo Military Junta” to cease its violent attacks against civilians in the central provinces of Sofala and Manica.

Momade also voiced condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado province which have displaced more than 500,000 people from their homes.