AFP, MAPUTO
Two close associates of Mozambique’s leading opposition candidate, Venancio Mondlane, who ran for president in the Oct. 9 elections, were gunned down in Maputo on Saturday as they prepared to challenge the contested elections.
Lawyer Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, another candidate from the Podemos party backing Mondlane, were traveling in a vehicle in the center of the capital when they were surrounded by other vehicles and shot dead, witnesses said.
Podemos head Albino Forquilha confirmed the killings, while the national lawyers’ association expressed “deep shock” at Dias’ death. A civil society observer group, Mais Integridade, called the “repugnant” murders an “act of intimidation” undermining democracy.
A woman holds a photograph of Paulo Guambe, left, and adviser and lawyer Elvino Dias, who both worked with Mozambique’s leading opposition candidate, during a vigil after they were shot dead in Maputo on Saturday.
Photo: AFP
Police said an investigation had been started, but did not immediately confirm the identities of the two slain men.
Images posted to social media showed the bloody bodies of the two victims inside the vehicle, which was riddled with bullets.
Witnesses said that two attackers had fired about 20 shots after several vehicles surrounded the two victims’ car early on Saturday.
The EU issued a statement condemning the killings of Dias and Guambe and calling for a full and transparent investigation “that will bring to justice those responsible for this outrageous crime.”
“In a democracy, there is no place for politically motivated killings,” it said.
Mozambique is awaiting official nationwide results from the elections. They are due to be published on Thursday.
Mondlane, who mounted a challenge to the Frelimo party that has ruled Mozambique since its independence 49 years ago, claimed victory almost immediately after polling day.
He has alleged electoral fraud as Frelimo claims to be leading in the ballot counts, and has urged his supporters to paralyze the southeast African nation by joining a nationwide protest with a planned march starting from the murder scene.
Dias made a name for himself last year after accusing authorities of fraud in municipal elections won by Frelimo.
Recently on Facebook, he had expressed fears over a plan to assassinate him, Mais Integridade said in a statement.
The ruling party said in a statement that it rejected “vehemently this macabre act” and called on “all authorities to do everything in their powers to shed light on this affair.”
About a dozen lawyers on Saturday morning gathered near the scene of the crime, applauding their fallen colleague. In the evening, Mondlane joined about 100 supporters who held a vigil in Maputo.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
