This Tuesday in Pemba, Cabo Delgado, the President of the Republic, Daniel Chapo, repudiated the manipulation of parts of his speech during the popular rally he held on Monday, warning that words had been taken out of their original context with the aim of negatively influencing public opinion.

In his comments of clarification, made during his introductory remarks at the start of the Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers, held in Pemba, the Head of State congratulated media professionals for their work, but pointed out that "we have situations in which people end up taking words out of context, with the aim of manipulating public opinion".

Chapo emphasized that his statement explicitly referred to violent, illegal and criminal demonstrations, which include looting, vandalism and the destruction of public and private property. "We are referring both before and after violent demonstrations, illegal demonstrations and criminal demonstrations," the statesman clarified in relation to reports that the President of the Republic had said he would work to combat the demonstrations.

Chapo made a point of differentiating these actions from peaceful demonstrations, which are a right guaranteed by the Constitution and the Law on Demonstrations. "These are peaceful, they are in the Constitution and the Law and they have mechanisms to be carried out," the Head of State stressed.

The Mozambican President also highlighted the negative impact of the criminal demonstrations, mentioning significant losses for Mozambican society and families. "As a result, so many people are losing their jobs, they are going without salaries, their families are suffering," he warned.

In relation to public security, Chapo condemned acts such as the looting of medicine warehouses and the robbery of police stations to steal weapons. "When someone breaks into a police station and steals weapons, it's not part of the demonstrations that are referred to in the Constitution or the Demonstrations Act," he said.

The Head of State reiterated the state's commitment to maintaining order and public safety, calling on the population to reject violent acts and opt for dialog and development in the country. "We are calling on people to stop making violent, illegal and criminal demonstrations, and therefore to start living together normally in society."

Daniel Chapo once again recognized the role of the press and encouraged journalists to continue their work with impartiality, responsibility and competence. "We wanted to take this opportunity to tell our friends in the media to continue to do their work here in Pemba in an excellent way."

On the occasion, he explained that the decision to hold this session in Cabo Delgado is in line with the commitment he made in his inauguration speech on January 15 to promote governance that is closer to the population. "It is in this sense that we have begun this tour of our country through this province of Cabo Delgado, where we have various adversities," he said.

The President of the Republic stressed that the choice of Cabo Delgado was due to the need to closely monitor the challenges faced by the province, which has suffered from terrorism for almost eight years and has also been severely affected by Cyclone Chido and other adversities. (Press Release)