Former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane says he is the victim of political persecution because of the latest developments involving him and people close to him or integrated into his political project. This time it involves his financial agent and his communications advisor.

This week, he was heard by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) for almost ten hours without, he says, being told if there were any charges against him.

The hearing at the PGR took place after he suffered an alleged assassination attempt by the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) last week, Wednesday (05). In an action to disperse the masses, shots from the UIR hit the vehicle Mondlane was in. There were at least six bullets, according to his press office.

On Saturday night, two young men in Massinga were murdered by unknown assailants. The victims were part of Mondlane's political project, according to the press office when the information was released.

Lightning strikes

According to Mondlane, the 'repressions' didn't stop there. And this week, on the day of his hearing at the PGR, when he was accompanied by his communications advisor, Dinis Tivane, he was issued with a summons to make a statement at the Central Office for Organized and Transnational Crime. This, according to Mondlane, happened when Tivane was about to be briefed on the interrogation. "They looked at him and gave him the summons".

Yesterday morning, Glória Nobre, the politician's financial representative, was arrested by police authorities at her home. At the 8th Police Station of the Republic of Mozambique, in the Port of Maputo, the lawyer was prevented from communicating with his client. She was prevented from signing the mandate to have the assistance of a lawyer. The motives and circumstances of the arrest are unknown.

"We don't know what kind of country we're in..." he said, noting that, since October, 42 people associated with his political project have been killed, and more than 400 have suffered repression.

"I want the whole world to know what is happening. This is political persecution. It's more than clear. It's a level of intolerance, in an anti-democratic country, dominated by one party, through terror, intimidation, persecution and murder," he concluded yesterday in a CIP Cast interview with the Center for Public Integrity.