Frelimo, Mozambique's ruling party, reacted "with sadness and great shock" to the murder 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..

"Frelimo vehemently repudiates this macabre act and urges all the authorities to do everything in their power to clarify this case," reads the party's press release on Saturday.

In the same note, the presidential party candidate, Daniel Chapo, called for a swift, impartial, independent and rigorous investigation into the double murder. "I would like to urge the institutions of justice to carry out a swift, impartial, independent and rigorous investigation, with the aim of establishing the facts and holding the perpetrators responsible. Justice must be done. We cannot allow fear to exist in a democratic state governed by the rule of law," he said in a statement.

According to a VOAChapo said that the crime was "an affront to democracy and to the principles of the democratic rule of law, which we must all protect". The Frelimo presidential candidate called on Mozambican lawyers to remain firm in their commitment to defending fundamental rights and justice, the basis of a "democratic rule of law".

In addition, Chapo says he hopes the murders don't distract Mozambique from "building a more just and inclusive nation". "We cannot allow fear to exist in a democratic state governed by the rule of law."

(Photo DR)