Two opposition leaders in Mozambique are killed by gunmen before election demonstrations

Rights groups stated that a Mozambican opposition lawyer and a party official were slain by gunmen who opened fire on their car on Saturday, escalating tensions ahead of demonstrations against a contested election outcome.

Frelimo, the party that has controlled Mozambique for 50 years, and its candidate Daniel Chapo are expected to win, according to preliminary results rejected by the new opposition party Podemos and its presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane.

On Monday, they have called for a nationwide strike.

Elvino Dias, a lawyer for Podemos, and Paulo Guambe, a party representative, were killed in the attack that took place in the Bairro Da Coop neighborhood of the capital Maputo, according to More Integrity, a civil society election observation group in Mozambique.

The incident was confirmed by statements from Human Rights Watch and the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) in Mozambique.
“They were brutally assassinated (in a) cold-blooded murder,” CDD director Adriano Nuvunga told Reuters over the phone.

According to him, it was a “message” to opposition protestors who were scheduled to gather on Monday. “The indications that around 10 to 15 bullets were shot, and they died instantly,” he continued.

Requests for comment were not answered by a Frelimo representative.
Both the European Union and Portugal, the former colonial power in Mozambique, denounced the murder and demanded an inquiry.

The emergence of Mondlane as Mozambique’s principal rival posed a threat not only to Frelimo but also to Renamo, the previous official opposition party that was supported by racist white regimes in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and South Africa during the Cold War.

The death was seen as a “serious escalation” that increased tensions before Monday’s strike by Alex Vines, director of the Africa program at Chatham House, a London-based foreign affairs think tank.

Given claims of vote buying, intimidation, bloated voter rolls, and poor collation transparency—issues that have plagued most polls since Frelimo ushered in democracy in 1994 after 20 years in power—Western observers have questioned the poll’s authenticity.

Many worry that Monday’s demonstration could turn violent, although full findings are anticipated on October 24. Rights groups claim that Mozambique’s security forces have fired on demonstrators, particularly following the local elections last year.