The executive director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), Adriano Nuvunga, says there is widespread fear in Mozambique of the death squads that have been observed in the country.

Speaking after the funeral of Elvino Dias, the lawyer of presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who was murdered last Saturday (19) along with the PODEMOS candidate in the General Elections, Nuvunga believes that police repression has intensified fear among Mozambicans.

According to a Radio France Internationale (RFI)Adriano Nuvunga, who was present at the funeral, says he saw a population in mourning but, at the same time, with the will to fight for justice and human rights.

"There is widespread fear in Mozambique: who will be the next victim? Who will be the next blood to be shed, particularly in a context where the feeling is that this is a state crime against citizens. It is a state crime against activists, against defenders of democracy and human rights. These are weapons of war that are killing activists, they are killing lawyers," said the social activist.

For Nuvunga, "people are still mourning the barbaric murder and macabre noise of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, but people are still in a state of shock", recalling that five years ago Anastácio Matavele was killed in the same way.

"People are still in a state of shock, but at the same time people are saying: we have already mourned this fighter who fell at the hands of the forces of evil. We need to honor him, continue his work and legacy by coming together to fight for justice," he said.

Commenting on the General Elections, the results of which will be announced this afternoon by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Nuvunga said that the ballot was "a charade and lacked credibility".

"These elections are a charade. They are elections without credibility, elections that are not the means through which the people can speak and Mozambique's institutions do not allow respect for the will of the people," he said.

Regarding the wave of murders, especially during election periods, the CDD's executive director argues that "this is a regime that is already denouncing that it has nothing more to give to the people, that it is a regime that is already maintaining itself through authoritarian and repressive means". Therefore, "it's a regime that, democratically speaking, can be said to have no face left to put out in public".

(Photo DR)