Journalists released in Mozambique

Another 11 people have been killed in protests in Mozambique since Wednesday, a monitoring group said. The Decide Platform civil society group said seven people had been killed in Nampula, and two each in the Zambezia and Maputo provinces. Frelimo were declared winners after the 9 November general elections, but the opposition Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos) party and their leader, Venancio Mondlane, claimed that the results were rigged. SA’s Department of International Relations & Co-operation said SA journalists Bongani Siziba and Sbonelo Mkhasibe were released after Mozambican police were satisfied they were reporters. News24 understands they were arrested for taking pictures of a security establishment near a Frelimo building, and police suspected they were operating without proper accreditation as journalists.

Some SA truck drivers are counting themselves ‘lucky’ to have returned home unscathed, having dodged the violence. Others were not as fortunate as they attempted to get to the Lebombo Border post, the main crossing between Mozambique and SA, as their vehicles were pelted. With the disruptions raging on this week, human rights groups said more than 30 people have since been killed. The Sunday Tribune reports that truck driver Thulani Shabalala, who is based in Boksburg, said he was stuck in Ressano Garcia, Maputo for a few days. ‘It affected me a lot emotionally as I was in fear of what might happen. Some of my colleagues were affected physically because some had stones hurled at them while others were beaten up. To be stuck in a place where people are protesting violently in the presence of soldiers, who did not intervene, really affected us. However, to be fair, it is their right to voice their concerns in their own country,’ he said.