The Mozambican police today fired tear gas to disperse people who were beginning to gather to take part in the peaceful marches called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane in repudiation of the murder of two supporters.
At 8:20 a.m. local time (7:20 a.m. in Lisbon), about 50 meters from where the gathering began, a tear gas canister was fired to disperse a small group of protesters, with the police taking two of them away.
Speaking to Lusa at the scene, Armando Morona said that he was hit by the gas and that the authorities did not say anything: "They are just shooting left and right."
"But they can wait for us, we are here, no one is going to back down," said the protester, referring to the situation in Mozambique as "a disgrace on a global scale, where a lawyer is killed."
"The police are committing this disgrace, this is yet another repudiation of the election results," he said.
Maputo woke up today with practically no movement.
In a patrol carried out by Lusa in the Mozambican capital, it was possible to see a city with unusually low traffic for the first day of the work week, with few public transport services operating, although there was some pedestrian movement and cafes open.
Some police reinforcements were also visible, especially in the area planned for the march to start, the site of Friday's double homicide, and also near the municipal headquarters.
"This will be the first, peaceful stage, in which we will paralyze all public and private activity. We will take to the streets with our posters, we will express our repudiation," announced Venâncio Mondlane on Saturday in Maputo, at the site where two supporters were murdered.
He assured that the strike in the public and private sectors, which he had called for today, in protest against the preliminary results of the October 9 elections, would continue, and would now take to the streets, and he blamed the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) for the double homicide.
The Mozambican police confirmed to Lusa on Saturday that the vehicle in which Elvino Dias, Venâncio Mondlane's lawyer, and Paulo Guambe, leader of Podemos, the party that supports Mondlane, were traveling, had been shot dead, had been "ambushed."
The crime took place on Joaquim Chissano Avenue, in the city centre, and according to the police, a woman who was travelling in the back seat of the vehicle was also shot and taken to hospital.
In Maputo, the march is scheduled to leave the scene of the double homicide at 10:00.
The Mozambican police warned, before the double homicide that led to the march being called, in addition to the strike, that they will prevent any acts of violence and public disorder that occur today.
The general elections on 9 October included the seventh presidential election - in which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, who has reached the limit of two terms, has not run - simultaneously with legislative elections and elections for provincial assemblies and governors.
The CNE has 15 days to announce the official results, which is due on 24 October, and then the Constitutional Council will proclaim the results, after also concluding its analysis of any appeals, but without a set deadline for this purpose.
