17 December 2007
Maputo — Clashes between the Mozambican police and an angry crowd in the central town of Gondola on Saturday left two people dead and 15 injured, three of them seriously, according to a report in Monday's issue of the independent newssheet "Mediafax".
Although "Mediafax" talks of a "popular revolt", the story itself makes it quite clear that the police in Gondola were facing a lynch mob who descended on a local health post, demanding that alleged criminals be handed over to them. They claimed that the police were protecting criminals and had taken them, under cover of night, to the health post for medical treatment.
The clashes began at 08.00 on Saturday morning and lasted for about three hours. The riot was so serious that it halted traffic along the main road from Beira to Zimbabwe. The police in gondola had to ask for reinforcements from the provincial capital, Chimoio.
According to the Gondola district police commander, Valentim Wilson, the health centre was damaged in the riot, and three vehicles were destroyed, two belonging to the police and one to the district health director. The Gondola district attorney fled and went into hiding, because the mob claimed that he was complicit in the alleged release of criminals.
At least one of the two people killed seems to have had nothing to do with the riot. According to the "Mediafax" sources, he was struck by a stray police bullet as he tried to drive past the crowd.
When contacted by "Mediafax", the Attorney-General's Office (PGR) in Maputo said it knew nothing about the clashes. PGR general secretary Adriano Boene promised to investigate the facts of the case.
Real or imagined police or court inability to deal with crime has led to a wave of lynchings across the country, as angry crowds take the law into their own hands. Thus on Friday and Satuerday, three alleged thieves were lynched in the suburbs of Macurungo and Matacuane in the central city of Beira. The executioners justified their acts on the grounds that the three men had been caught breaking into houses.
A fourth man was beaten senseless merely because he was carrying saucepans in a rucksack. He turned out to be an off-duty soldier.
Frequently the police have been accused of protecting criminals because alleged thieves, turned over to the police, have been seen walking the streets again a few days later. This may well be because a magistrate has ordered their release, either because there is not enough evidence to hold them, or because they have been granted conditional freedom and can await their trial at home.
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