Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday backed the police brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters nationwide to pay tribute to the late rapper Edson da Lux, better known by his stage name Azagaia.
Mozambicans are used to Nyusi going AWOL after a traumatic event. Therefore, they were not surprised that five days later, he finally addressed the matter of police brutality – as he is wont to behave, Nyusi removed any doubts that he is willing to trample the constitution to achieve his goals.
Presiding a graduation ceremony of police officers at the Maputo Academy of Police Scinces (ACIPOL), rather than acknowledging that Mozambique’s police (PRM) had violated the constitution on cracking down on protesters, Nyusi said that he had tasked the Ministry of the Interior to “identify those who wish to take advantage of the individual virtue of the young rapper, Azagaia,” he said.
Pretending to strike some sort of balance, Nyusi said that he had also instructed the Ministry of the Interior to also investigate what had driven police to “physically confront the youths”.
Comment
Except for the improvisations, this was the worst speech Nyusi has made recently. It refers to the March events (Azagaia’s funeral and the marches in his honour) as politically motivated demonstrations aimed at altering the country’s democratic order.
Basically, Nyusi echoed police General-Command statements, and he has made falsehoods official, which will contribute towards widening the gap between the regime and the youth. The proposed inquiry on police brutality will likely conclude that police acted with the confines of the constitution, and might even suggest holding the demonstrations organisers criminally liable.
He may be strong within Frelimo, where his is cracking-down on internal enemies, but his star as president of all Mozambicans fades by the day. Not even his desired third term will save him from the grim future and political instability the country will plunge into if a third term comes to pass.
And he will have been his sole responsibility….
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