Police accused of killing pot-banging protester

At a cemetery in Maputo, the crisis-hit capital of Mozambique, the mourners had been very younger – kids shed tears as they mentioned goodbye to a 16-year-old good friend who attended a gathering organized by the opposition. Shot whereas banging pots and pans throughout protests.

“Antonio was shot within the mouth and the bullet went via the again of his head,” his uncle Manuel Samuel instructed the BBC.

“Now we have seen CCTV footage from close by retailers displaying police firing on protesters,” he added.

Antonio Juaqim’s homicide is a tragic reminder of the unstable political local weather within the southern African nation since Frelimo, the previous liberation motion that has been in energy since independence 49 years in the past, was declared the winner of the polls .

Frelimo’s presidential candidate Daniel Chapo gained with 71 % of the vote, the electoral fee mentioned, whereas closest rival Venâncio Mondlane’s is 20%.

Mondlane, an evangelical pastor who ran for president as an impartial after breaking away from the primary opposition Resistance Motion, rejected the assertion, claiming the polls had been rigged.

The electoral fee denied the claims, however Mondran, who fled the nation fearing arrest, took to social media to rally supporters to protest the outcomes.

Each night time at 21:00 native time (19:00 GMT), folks bang pots and pans of their houses in response to Mondelein’s name to loudly ship out a message rejecting the extension of Frelimo’s 49-year rule.

Samuel mentioned the protest first passed off on the night of November 15, when massive numbers of individuals took to the streets banging pots and pans or whistling.

“It is like a brand new Mozambique is being born,” he added.

However Mr Samuel mentioned the night time led to tragedy and Antonio was amongst these killed by police.

Since then, most individuals have protested at dwelling, and the banging of pots and pans echoed throughout Maputo at 21:00 each night time.

At Antonio’s funeral at San Francisco Xavier Cemetery 4 days after he was killed, one in all his mates delivered his mom’s eulogy: “You had been lively and hope. Now you’re the sufferer of a bullet.”

Antonio’s mates cried and planted flowers on his grave, then positioned colourful balloons on the grave to remind him that he was only a little one.

Mr Manuel instructed the BBC: “Within the morgue I counted the our bodies of six younger kids.”

“They’re killing us and our future,” he added.

Human Rights Watch mentioned some 40 folks, together with a minimum of 10 kids, had been killed by police throughout post-election protests.

Mozambican police commander Bernardino Rafael expressed sympathy for the households of the victims however shied away from duty for the deaths, blaming Mondrane’s supporters.

He instructed the BBC: “They’re utilizing kids as a defend within the entrance whereas they keep within the again.”

The commander added that in lots of instances police had no selection however to guard themselves from protesters who unleashed violence that included the killing of six cops, looting and burning of property and autos.

“We recorded 103 accidents, 69 of them cops,” he mentioned.

However Albino Fouquiglia, chief of Mozambique’s Optimist Social gathering for Growth, which helps Mondlane’s presidential bid, accused police of utilizing extreme power to suppress dissent.

“It feels as if they’re getting used to guard the ruling occasion,” he instructed the BBC.

Borges Namier, an analyst on the South African Institute for Safety Research, mentioned that is the primary time Mozambique has seen so many casualties and property harm throughout protests.

It was clear, he mentioned, that Frelimo had misplaced reputation, particularly amongst younger folks “searching for jobs, searching for vocational coaching, trying to construct homes, searching for cash.”

“They do not care who brings independence. The independence they need is monetary independence,” Mr. Namier mentioned.

After the outcomes had been introduced on October 24, El Chapo insisted that his FMLN had gained in a free and truthful contest, saying: “We’re an organized occasion that’s making ready for victory.”

Since then, he has maintained a distinctly low profile, awaiting a court docket ruling on Mondelein’s bid to annul the outcome.

Lots of Mondlane’s supporters additionally responded to his name, stopping their autos and hooting at midday to mourn the useless for 3 days (till November 22), in an obvious try to sustain the stress forward of the decision.

Like Antonio, 20-year-old Alito Momad was allegedly killed by police throughout protests.

On November 17, the BBC met a few of his mates in a neighborhood exterior Maputo the place they had been holding an evening vigil for him.

Buddies of Alito confirmed us a photograph of him subsequent to burning candles and a Mozambican flag on the bottom, with what seemed to be a gunshot wound to the again of his head.

It was one other reminder of how this election has minimize quick the lives of younger folks whose mates and relations hope they’ll get justice as Mozambique goes via one in all its most turbulent intervals for the reason that emergence of multi-party democracy some 30 years in the past.