134 dead in 4 days
In the four days 23-26 December, 134 people have been killed by police or in demonstration related incidents. This brings the death toll for the 66 days of demonstration to 261, according to Plataforma Elecitoral Decide, which is keeping the most accurate count. In the past 4 days there have been 228 people shot but only 161 detained.
1534 Machava prisoners allowed to escape
In a major jailbreak on Christmas day, 1534 prisoners were allowed to escape - most from the Maputo Penitentiary (still called Machava prison by most people) and 98 from the adjoining high security prison (known as the BO). At least 150 have been recaptured or returned voluntarily. At least 37 prisoners were killed trying to escape or after re-capture.
Justice Minister Helena Kida, responsible for prisons, told the press that the flight had been orchestrated from inside. But Police Commander-General Bernardino Rafael told the press that the prisoners were freed by demonstrators. No one reported an attempt by demonstrators to free the prisoners Wednesday afternoon, and the Kida explanation is accepted. That means a senior group in Frelimo, probably not including Kida, decided to increase the instability by releasing 1534 convicted criminals.
Lawyers say "leaders have lost their authority" and condemn "intentionally criminal act
Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados de Moçambique) president Carlos Martins issued an extremely strong statement Wednesday, which was highly critical of the government. He said: "When you stop protecting democracy, the state and the constitution, anything goes, because there are no longer any values to be respected, and there is now a handful of nothing, where nothing grows, flourishes or develops." He cites "the looting of public and private property that we have witnessed, under the inert gaze of the defence and security forces." He also cites "the escape of prisoners from Machava Prison, the recovery of some and the slaughter that followed of some of these captured prisoners." This was "unjustified considering that they were already in the hands and under the control of the authorities, and was an intentionally criminal act. … This is an unjustified, repugnant way of acting, which reveals a sick society, in which the leaders have totally lost their authority. As things stand, Mozambique is moving towards the institutionalisation of anarchy, collective fear and small radicalised private powers." The statement (in English and Portuguese) is on https://bit.ly/Moz-OAM-Xmas
Martins picks up on two points widely noted by the public: police doing nothing to stop looting and burning, and prisoners being intentionally released and shot. And he picks up on the young people's complaints about growing poverty when he says: "We must actively invest in a process of renewing our collective and individual values, beliefs and objectives, which will lead us to social justice, but above all, to the well-being of all."
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Conspiracy theories?: Opposition leaders Venancio Mondlane on his Facebook broadcast last weekend call for his supporters to create "chaos" if the Constitutional Council approved the victory of Frelimo. But when chaos included looting and burning he quickly backed off and said not to attack commercial property. Today he accused Frelimo of allowing looting and burning to go unchecked, and of spreading rumours of gangs with machetes going though neighbourhoods to loot and kill. Is it extreme to accuse Frelimo of fomenting fear in order to break the growing protests?
Both sides promoted chaos. Are ordinary people frightened enough to push their leaders to talk?
