Mozambican police (PRM) in the coastal municipality city of Angoche, in the northern Nampula province, on Thursday violently cracked down on the opposition Renamo demonstrators who are protesting the official results of the 11 October municipal elections.
Police fired live bullets against the Renamo protesters, leaving about a dozen injured.
Videos making the rounds in social media show youths with bleeding holes in their limbs, apparently made by live rounds.
Reports claim that two of the injured protesters are in critical condition and have been transferred to Nampula’s provincial hospital, some 175km north-west of Angoche.
Comment
While Renamo mobilises its supporters to protest the massive electoral fraud, the PRM has been interpreting the law to crack down on the protestors rather than providing them with security.
The police have accused Paulo Vahanle, the current mayor of Nampula city, of “inciting violence,” and the protestors of using Molotov cocktails – somehow, this has led police to ban the sale of gasoline and kerosene in very small units.
Constitutionally, the PRM cannot ban the sale of products on its own accord. That is the remit of the parliament, using constitutional norms to propose banning measures after a plenary debate. Should the PRM propose a ban, it would have to be a matter for the Ministry of the Interior to submit a proposal to parliament.
Unfortunately, under the command of Bernardino Rafael, the PRM has been in instances acting outside constitutional and republican boundaries, benefitting the ruling Frelimo party, confirming being a state within the state.
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