Maputo municipal authorities on Monday announced the closing of beaches between 7:00 pm and 5:00 am allegedly to combat a spike in crime in Mozambique’s capital.
“At night, several misdemeanours are taking place, such as murders and rapes. It is important that the beaches are always closed at nightfall, that is, at 7:00 pm,” said Leonel Matsumane, the Maputo Municipality Tourism Director.
Anyone wishing to use the beaches between curfew hours must seek authorisation from the municipal authorities, after which, if approved, a team will be assigned to monitor activities.
Most night activities are likely to occur at the Costa do Sol beach, with citizens mainly organising parties and jogging.
Matsumane added that the municipality will henceforth have a dedicated police presence for monitoring compliance.
Comment
To start with, citizens hardly go to the beach during winter nights during to the low temperatures, but police inability to fight crime should not be at the expense of citizens’ freedoms – however, this seems to be a popular police default position.
At the height of the insurgency in the northern Cabo Delgado province, police imposed a curfew on citizens in the capital Pemba, which was over 400 km south from where the attacks were taking place.
Unfortunately, the police and municipal authorities decide to impose curfews without consult the citizens in order to arrive at a compromising position. There is no state of emergency like that imposed at the height of Covid 19, leading to curfews. The decision is arbitrary, at best.
What is strange is that police will deploy units to the beaches not to keep citizens safe but to monitor compliance with the municipal decision, meaning that the authoritarian streak is firmly entrenched within the police body.
This continues to show that the state and its various bodies has little or no regard for the rights of citizens, and continually erode their rights.
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