Mozambique: Woman hurt in car by tear gas canister during toll protests – photos

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Mozambique: Woman hurt in car by tear gas canister during toll protests – photos

3:20 CAT | 27 Jan 2025

Photo: Lusa

A woman was injured when she was hit inside her car by a tear gas grenade fired by the police at the Katembe tolls in an attempt to disperse dozens of people who were protesting against the return of tolls at that entrance to Maputo.

A woman was injured after being hit, while inside her vehicle, by a tear gas grenade thrown by police at the Katembe toll booths in an attempt to dispel dozens of people who were protesting the resumption of tolling there.

Access to Maputo via the Katembe bridge was blocked this morning by motorists protesting against the resumption of tolling by the concessionaire, Revimao, after a hiatus driven by post-election disturbances.

After a tense stand-off, dozens of people approached the toll booths and Revimo facilities at the bridge exit, demanding that tolling be stopped. They were repelled by the police at around 10:40 a.m. with gunfire and tear gas, forcing them to flee temporarily.

One of these grenades ended up breaking the window of a vehicle immobilised in the queue at the exit of the toll, and detonated inside the vehicle.

“I was inside the car, and the car caught fire, burning my seat and everything. I was alone, I was going to work, my car is practically the last one here in the queue,” said the driver, who suffered bruises and burns.

🔵REGIME POLICE USE TEAR GAS, DAMAGES VEHICLE IN MAPUTO-KATEMBE TOLL

At the Maputo-Katembe toll gate, regime police fired a tear gas canister that shattered a car window, igniting a fire inside. The projectile set a passenger seat ablaze, forcing the driver, a woman on her way… pic.twitter.com/TEBDnKxKJ3

— Justice Frontil Equitas (@justicefrontil) January 27, 2025

The police action led to an uproar among drivers and other people at the scene, who demanded explanations from the police, followed by more tension and attempts at negotiation by the authorities at the scene. A protester, a fare collector for an informal transport vehicle, who had been arrested shortly before, was released.

Since early in the morning this Monday, drivers accessing the toll plaza on the bridge in Katembe, the only entrance to the capital from the south of the country, were honking their horns and refusing to pay the toll, despite the large police presence.

Refusal to pay caused huge queues, which led Revimo officials to sporadically open the toll booths to clear the traffic, which drove through in a festive atmosphere.

Katembetolls.lusa_.lusa_

Blocks.lusa_

At around 9:30 am, drivers stopped their vehicles a few dozen metres from the toll plaza, completely blocking traffic into Maputo and forcing dozens of people to leave their vehicles and walk to the city, despite the ban on pedestrian traffic on the bridge. The same happened with the vehicles, which were returning in the wrong direction on a two-lane expressway.

The Mozambique Road Network (Revimo), responsible for the construction, maintenance and operation of several national roads, had announced that it would be resuming the collection of toll fees today across the country.

“We inform you that, as of Monday, 27/01/2025, toll collection will resume […] under our management,” a statement released by Revimo reads.

Bridgee-lusa

The South African company Trans African Concessions (TRAC), concessionaire of the N4 highway, which connects Maputo to the Ressano Garcia border, also resumed toll collection on Thursday, causing popular outrage, with protesters blocking the road and police firing several shots to reopen access to the Maputo toll booth.

In December, then-presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for the non-payment of tolls in the country, and after the destruction and vandalisation of some toll booths, several were closed.

Meanwhile, in a document published on Tuesday, with 30 measures demanded for the next 100 days, Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognize the official results of the general elections of October 9th that gave victory to Daniel Chapo, already sworn in as the fifth President of Mozambique, once again highlighted the non-charging of tolls throughout the country as a demand.

“On the N4, tolls, given their lifespan, have fulfilled the time of profitability in relation to the investment made,” he states in the document, demanding the extension of the non-payment of tolls during this period, also alleging that on several toll roads in the country “there was no public consultation” about the tolling, and “the principle of the alternative route [to the toll route] was not respected”.

Revimo states that the fees charged through tolls guarantee the maintenance of road infrastructure, stating that it will continue to implement measures to mitigate costs, “including discounts” for public transport of passengers and frequent users.

Bridge.lusa_