The Embassy of the United States of America (USA) in Maputo is demanding a "swift and exhaustive" investigation into the death of Elvino Dias, legal advisor to presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, and the national representative of the Povo Optimista para o Desenvolvimento de Moçambique (PODEMOS) party, Paulo Guambe..

Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe were murdered by unknown individuals in the early hours of Saturday morning along Avenida Joaquim Chissano.

In a joint statement issued yesterday, Saturday (19), by five countries with diplomatic representations in Maputo, the US Embassy, the Canadian High Commission, the Norwegian Embassy, the Swiss Embassy and the UK High Commission, "as part of the international community, we join the Mozambicans in condemning the murder of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe and extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and loved ones".

The five countries called for a "swift and exhaustive" investigation into the crime.

Prior to this note, the US had already called on the National Electoral Commission (CNE) to carry out a "credible and transparent tabulation of the results that accurately respects their constitutional rights to choose their leaders".

"They (Mozambicans) deserve from the CNE/STAE [National Electoral Commission/Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration] a credible and transparent tabulation of results that accurately respects their constitutional rights to choose their leaders," reads a post on the embassy's official Facebook account.

(Photo DR)