The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) continue to deny having used force against participants in the peaceful marches in homage to the late rapper Azagaia on Saturday in several cities.

In Nampula, the accusation comes from a detained activist who says he was tortured and found with signs of beatings after having been missing for more than 24 hours.

Zacarias Nacute, a police spokesman in Nampula, confirmed that the promoter of the march, Gamito dos Santos, along with the other demonstrators, were taken to the police station for allegedly attempting to threaten public order and tranquillity, since the demonstration had been banned because there were reports that it would be violent.

Despite denying that torture took place, Zacarias Nacute said that it was necessary to use some force because the citizen was resistant.

At a press conference, Nacute explained that the demonstrators were taken to the police station because they were "disturbing order and to safeguard the interests of the majority, which is to guarantee public order and tranquillity".

VOA contacted Gamito dos Santos, who promised to comment on Tuesday 21st, but information published on his social media account says that he was "kidnapped by the police" when he was in a restaurant, taken to command and blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, where he was stripped naked and tortured by special police forces.

In the same publication, Gamito dos Santos says that after being tortured, he was returned to command.

On Monday, the activist went to the police station with representatives of the bar association to retrieve his belongings and file a complaint with a view to holding the perpetrators who tortured him accountable.

Social activist Quiteria Guirengane said that with the police violence against the demonstrators on Saturday, the government "tore up the constitution of the Republic" and made it clear that Mozambique is not a democratic country with the rule of law.

For Guirengane, "what happened to our comrade Gamito can only be compared to what happened to terrorists. We are worried when people see the possibility that the state is a kidnapper, a criminal and commits most of the atrocities."

Vicente Manjate, a member of the national council of the Bar Association, who confirmed that the protester had been tortured, said that what is at stake is a crime committed against a defenceless citizen who was arrested outside the venue of the demonstration.

And he says that in doing so, the police are violating the human rights of citizens, a situation that has been witnessed in most of the cities where young people have come out to pay homage to Azagaia.

"Gamito's case was one of the most serious and worried us because for a long time we didn't know where he was and there were indications that he had been kidnapped," adds Manjate, who confirms that the Bar Association is following up on victims of police violence.

The crackdown on demonstrations comes at a time when the country is awaiting a visit from the president of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace.