Lawyer and party official shot dead in Maputo

The lawyer for a prominent Mozambique opposition figure has been shot dead in Maputo, along with a party official. Elvino Dias was the attorney for Venâncio Mondlane, who ran for President representing the Podemos party in the elections 11 days ago. BBC News reports that Dias died with fellow Podemos official Paulo Guambe when gunmen attacked their car. ‘They were brutally assassinated (in a) cold-blooded murder,’ said local rights group the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights. Another organisation, the Mais Integridade election watchdog, said the killings were designed to intimidate anyone demanding transparency in the polls. Witnesses also allege that the police engaged in censorship and intimidation, preventing them from recording the violent scene, confiscating and damaging several phones. The police have denied any wrongdoing, and say they will take all necessary measures to prevent any acts of vandalism, violence, or public disorder in coming days. ‘Naturally, we condemn the heinous crime and assure that we are taking all measures to clarify the case,’ said police spokesperson Lionel Muchina.

Tributes have been paid to Dias, described by the Carta de Moçambique news site as a ‘shrewd lawyer, intrepid, with the tough fibre of a fighter’. ‘Elvino was a good, peaceful man,’ said Zenaido Machado, of Human Rights Watch. ‘Last year, during local elections, he led several elections court cases against the election commission, and he won. This year, he was preparing to do it again.’ BBC News reports that election votes are still being counted in Mozambique. Mondlane says he has won, and disputes claims by the establishment Frelimo party that they are in the lead. He has called for a nationwide strike. The EU, whose observer mission is in Mozambique monitoring the electoral process, called the killings an outrageous crime and urged the government to conduct an independent investigation. The European bloc said these events followed ‘worrying reports about violent dispersion of supporters in the aftermath of last week's election’.

Full BBC News report