Mozambique: Two arrested for inciting violence – AIM

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Mozambique: Two arrested for inciting violence – AIM

4:01 CAT | 15 Jul 2022

Image: Sala da Paz

The Mozambican police announced that on Thursday it arrested two people in Maputo for inciting violence.

They had thrown objects and burnt tyres on the public highway, during abortive attempts to spark off mass demonstrations against the rising cost of living.

But the demonstrations did not happen, despite threatening messages distributed on Mozambican social media.

According to the spokesperson for the General Command of the police, Orlando Mudumane, there had been “agitation” in several neighbourhoods of Maputo and the adjoining city of Matola – namely Infulene, Inhagoia, Luis Cabral, Hulene and Praca dos Combatentes.

The most serious situation was in the Luis Cabral neighbourhood, where the police used tear gas to control the crowd. But little damage was done, and shops that had closed, fearing violence, later reopened.

The demonstration was supposed to be nationwide, but there are no reports of anything happening outside of Maputo.

The threats of violence persuaded many owners of the minibuses (known as “chapas”) that provide much of the country’s urban passenger transport to take their vehicles off the Maputo streets, which meant that many people were unable to reach their workplaces, unless they chose to walk there.

It is not yet known who was responsible for the threatening messages on WhatsApp and other social media.

Source: AIM