Child dies after government guarantees safety
As Mozambique grapples with post-election tensions, with protests erupting across Maputo and other cities, the government’s decision to reopen schools without sufficient security measures has led to tragedy. A young child was fatally shot by police while walking home from school in Magoanine, a neighbourhood in Maputo where demonstrators clashed with security forces.
In another incident in Chamanculo, a mother and her child were caught in crossfire near a protest, both struck as they passed through an area where police were firing to disperse protesters challenging the election outcome.
At Castro Teófilo Primary School in Tete, students were forced to flee in panic as protests flared and police fired indiscriminately nearby. This instability sharply contrasts with assurances from the Ministry of Education, which had urged parents to send their children to school, vowing that the government would ensure their safety.
Today, Maputo and Matola remain in chaos, with protests spreading across multiple neighbourhoods. Businesses, which had briefly shown signs of resuming normal operations, are now shuttered again as protests reignite, some escalating into violent confrontations.
Tensions between police and the public have reached a boiling point. In downtown Maputo, tear gas was deployed to disperse a group that included members of the Muslim community and individuals of Indian descent. On Mao-Tse-Tung Avenue near Sommerschield, police fired shots at demonstrators in yet another crackdown.
Albino Forquilha, leader of the PODEMOS party and second in the official vote tally, led a peaceful demonstration that was quickly dispersed by police with tear gas and live rounds.
Mozambique braces for what could be a tense week, particularly on Thursday, the 7th, when Venâncio Mondlane, a defeated presidential candidate, has called for a “mega march” in Maputo. Mondlane claims that the march could draw up to four million participants, according to his estimates.
