The Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi, yesterday (08) visited those injured in Thursday's demonstrations who are hospitalized at Maputo Central Hospital (HCM).

Three deaths and 66 wounded are the number of victims reported by the HCM Emergency Services from the demonstrations organized by Venâncio Mondlane's Povo Optimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique (PODEMOS) party.

"My immediate concern was to go and see the injured. So I went to the Central Hospital where there are young wounded people who were involved in the demonstration, which was considered violent," said Nyusi, in a publication from the AIM.

He said that he had made contact with the injured young people and found out that some of them were salesmen, bricklayers or unemployed.

"I talked to them because I was there more to show solidarity. In the same orthopaedic ward, I also met a member of the police. He had suffered some serious injuries to his foot. He had the first surgery to fix it and then he's going to have the second to destabilize it," he added.

Nyusi insisted that he went to the hospital to express his solidarity with the injured young people and not to pass judgment because that is the role of the authorities.

After the HCM, the head of state went to the Shoprite shopping center to find out about the destruction caused by acts of vandalism.

"This is where the message of violence is reflected," said Nyusi, explaining that even if someone wants to distort events, the images speak for themselves.

He said he was also aware of the parade of some traders.

He acknowledged the pertinence of their complaints, although they are of a different nature. He therefore believes that his concerns should be raised at another time

He warned that there is a latent risk that people who vandalize stores to get hold of various products will come back and try to loot again.

"Once they've run out of the products they've managed to sell or what they consume, they'll go back to looting again," he said.

Nyusi said he was aware of the citizens' impatience for life to return to normal.

However, he says it doesn't make much sense to express his or the government's opinion on the elections so as not to influence the Constitutional Council's decisions, otherwise Mozambique would no longer be a democratic state.

(Photo DR)