Post-electoral: Population carries goods after warehouse looting in Maputo’s periphery

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Post-electoral: Population carries goods after warehouse looting in Maputo’s periphery

8:41 CAT | 26 Dec 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Screengrab/@ninadcx/X]

Several warehouses and shops in Maputo’s outskirts have been vandalized and looted since Tuesday, following social unrest triggered by the announcement of Mozambique’s election results. Hundreds of people carried away everything they could.

In Luís Cabral, a neighborhood at the entrance to Maputo, alongside the thick black smoke from barricades and visible destruction early in the morning yesterday, several warehouses were vandalized as locals carried goods on their heads and in wheelbarrows.

Rice, biscuits, milk, wooden shelves, new tires, and chairs—everything was taken, with many people returning repeatedly to grab more, despite a heavy police presence that failed to disperse the crowd.

“They’re taking rice and other stuff, but I haven’t gotten inside,” said Michael, a local carrying goods himself. Others added: “This is no longer about Venâncio [Mondlane, the presidential candidate who rejects the election results], this is about hunger.”

Near Maputo’s toll gates, military and police watch as locals carried all sorts of goods past them. Smoke continued to rise from the warehouses and barricades in the area, but security forces could do little against the large number of people leaving with products on foot, in cars, and even on motorcycles.

In other parts of Maputo’s outskirts, shops and other commercial establishments have been vandalized and looted, cars set ablaze, and streets left in ruins. Similar scenes are reported in the neighboring municipality of Matola, affecting bars, supermarkets, hair salons, and pharmacies.

The Mozambican police reported 236 “acts of grave violence” within 24 hours in response to the election results. These incidents included attacks on police stations and prisons, which resulted in 21 deaths, according to Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda on Tuesday night, who assured an immediate reinforcement of security.

“No one can call or consider these criminal acts as peaceful protests,” stated Ronda in a press conference in Maputo. This comes amidst widespread chaos across the country, including barricades, looting, vandalism, and various other attacks, a day after the final general election results from October 9 were announced.

The minister revealed that the 236 incidents nationwide over the past 24 hours included 25 vehicles set on fire (two belonging to the Mozambican Police), 11 police subunits and one penitentiary facility “attacked and vandalized, with 86 inmates released,” four toll booths burned down, three healthcare units vandalized, a central medicine warehouse burned and looted, and ten Frelimo party offices set ablaze.

“These incidents resulted in 21 deaths, including two police officers, and 25 injuries—13 civilians and 12 police officers,” said Ronda, adding that 78 people have been detained and that police are investigating the intellectual and material authors of these crimes. He described the current situation as “difficult” and “dire.”

“Given the severity of these events, the Government of Mozambique has ordered an immediate reinforcement of security measures nationwide, and the Defense and Security Forces [FDS] will intensify their presence at strategic and critical points,” Ronda stated.

The Constitutional Council of Mozambique announced Daniel Chapo, supported by Frelimo, as the winner of the presidential election on Monday afternoon, with 65.17% of the vote. Chapo succeeds Filipe Nyusi in office, with Frelimo also retaining a parliamentary majority in the October 9 general elections.

This announcement has sparked nationwide unrest, with supporters of Venâncio Mondlane—who was awarded only 24% of the votes by the Constitutional Council—taking to the streets with barricades, looting, and clashes with the police, who have been using gunfire to disperse the protests.

Source: Lusa