Gunmen kill two Mozambique opposition leaders amid election result dispute

Gunmen chased down and shot at two prominent opposition figures while they were travelling, aggravating tensions brewing from a disputed election result.

Carta de Moçambique, a local newspaper, reported that the killings happened early Saturday morning in the port capital of Maputo.

The Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), main opposition, named the killed figures as Elvino Dias, lawyer and advisor to Venancio Mondlane, the party’s presidential candidate, and Paulo Guambe, a senior member and spokesperson for Podemos.

Dias, believed to be driving, and Guambe, sitting in the passenger seat, were reportedly intercepted by two men with guns shortly after they left a local bar in Malhangalene neighbourhood, an area the lawyer reportedly frequented.

Leonel Muchina, police spokesperson, said the killings might be related to interactions the two men had with other patrons at the bar. However, the incident is widely viewed in Mozambique as being politically motivated.

Videos posted on social media showed a vehicle in the middle of the road with numerous bullet holes. The bodies of two men were in the front seat, one with blood on his chest, and the other slumped over.

In a statement after the shooting, Podemos said the killings are “further clear evidence of the lack of justice that we are all subjected to.”

Podemos, a relatively new opposition party, contested the 49-year dominance of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) in the October 9 election.

Although Mondlane ran for president as an independent, he was supported by Podemos, a coalition that has accused Frelimo of electoral fraud and rigging the election.

Preliminary results show Daniel Chapo, Frelimo candidate, holding a clear lead in the presidential race.

The final election results are due to be announced October 24.

Mondlane rejected the provisional results and called for a nationwide strike on Monday, an action analysts fear could turn bloody following the latest killings.

In past times, protests in Mozambique have turned violent.

The European Union (EU) condemned the killings and called for an immediate, thorough, and transparent investigation.