KEY POINTS
- Antonio Juaqim, 16, was killed during election protests in Maputo.
- Human Rights Watch says 40, including 10 children, were killed.
- Mondlane rallies supporters nightly with protests against alleged election fraud.
In the capital of Mozambique, mourners gathered to bury Antonio Juaqim, 16, who was shot and killed during a demonstration against the outcome of the country’s presidential election last month.
Protest over election results ends in tragic teen’s death
Family, relatives, and community members grieved the loss of a youth whose passing has come to represent the country’s growing political instability at the heartbreaking funeral held at São Francisco Xavier Cemetery.
According to Antonio’s uncle Manuel Samuel, “Antonio was shot in the mouth, and the bullet went through the back of his head.” Samuel claimed that nearby stores’ CCTV footage seemed to capture police shooting at demonstrators during the protests.
After the electoral commission declared that Daniel Chapo, the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, had won the presidential election with 71% of the vote, the rioting started. Former opposition leader and independent candidate Venâncio Mondlane claimed fraud and disputed the results.
Both the electoral commission and Frelimo, who have held power since Mozambique gained its independence 49 years ago, denied any fraud.
Mondlane leads nightly protests, rallying defiance against Frelimo rule
Mondlane left the nation out of fear of being arrested, but he has rallied supporters on social media. In defiance of Frelimo’s control, he called for nightly protests, asking people to bang pots and pans at 9 p.m.
According to BBC, the demonstration, which started out peacefully but ended up being fatal, drew hundreds of people to the streets on November 15.
Antonio was one of the people killed that evening during the protests. Samuel described the protests as “as though a new Mozambique was being born.” Since then, most of the protests have taken place indoors, and Maputo is filled with the sound of pots and pans every night.
One of Antonio’s buddies gave a moving eulogy at his funeral. You exuded vitality and optimism. You are now a bullet victim. In a moving remembrance of Antonio’s youth, the mourners released balloons and placed flowers on his tomb.
About 40 people, including at least 10 children, have been slain by police during the protests, according to campaign group Human Rights Watch. Samuel claimed to have counted six infant bodies at the mortuary. He went on to say, “They are killing us and our future.”
Bernadino Raphael, the police chief of Mozambique, apologised to the families of the victims but denied any involvement. He claimed that officers were compelled to protect themselves and accused demonstrators of using youngsters as human shields.
Antonio’s passing serves as a sobering reminder of the human cost of Mozambique’s political turmoil as tensions continue to rise.
