Maputo — Manuel de Araujo, the mayor of the central Mozambican city of Quelimane, has claimed that members of the police were involved in an abortive attempt to assassinate him, according to a report in Monday's issue of the independent newssheet, "Carta de Mocambique'.

The claim came on Araujo's Facebook page, just a fortnight after the Mayor of Nampula, Paulo Vahanle, had made a similar allegation. Both mayors are members of the main opposition party, Renamo, and both are standing for a further term of office in the municipal elections scheduled for 11 October.

Araujo claimed that the assassination attempt was known by the code name "Operation Zebra', but when "Carta de Mocambique' attempted to obtain more details, the mayor was not answering his phone.

At a political rally on the outskirts of Quelimane, Araujo presented two people who he claimed were members of the assassination squad. Araujo's aide-de-camp confirmed that the two men had been his colleagues in the police.

On his Facebook page. Araujo claimed that, after the failure of "Operation Zebra', members of the State Security Service (SISE) surrounded the house of the Head of Operations of the Quelimane Municipal Police.

So far the police have not reacted to these extraordinary allegations. The spokesperson for the Zambezia Provincial Police Command, Sidney Lonzo, had no immediate comment, but promised to react later on Monday.

This is not the first time that Araujo has accused the police of trying to assassinate him. In February 2020, he said the police had opened fire against his vehicle and the bullets punctured its tyres.

The police were attempting to stop a Renamo march at the time, and denied using real bullets against Araujo's car.

In September 2018, during the municipal election campaign of that year, Araujo alleged another police plot against his life. The police did not react to this claim.