Jailbreak in Mozambique? Well, it has been a week-long protest in the country capitalized by political unrest following a ruling by the constitutional court on October’s elections.
Official results from the much-disputed October election revealed the victory of the ruling Frelimo candidate, Daniel Chapo as the elected president.
This week’s protest erupted when the constitutional court ruled that indeed Chapo won the elections, however, amending the margin lower than stated earlier.
The Initial results in October stated that Daniel Chapo won by 71% of the total votes casted as against 20% of his major contender, Venâncio Mondlane. The court now says he won 65% instead and Mondlane garnered 24%.
An interesting thing to note about this, the Frelimo party has been in power since 1975. Mozambiquans are probably fed up and want them out, hence the confirmation of their victory did not really sit well with them. That is where the protests began. The capital city, Maputo has been looted and deserted. According to BBC, it was a ghost town on Christmas eve, businesses and shops have been shut with people staying home to protect themselves from any danger.
Now, making good use of the protest, are prisoners. They found a loophole and made the best of it. Police have reported that more than 1,500 prisoners have escaped from a prison in the country.
Thirty-three of them were killed and 15 injured in clashes with guards, police chief Bernardino Rafael revealed in a press conference.
Mr. Rafael said the anti-government protesters had approached the prison in Maputo on Wednesday. Prisoners then used the unrest to knock down a wall and escaped.
He added that about 150 more fugitives have since been recaptured.
Frelimo’s offices and other assets have been looted, vandalized and set ablaze across the country. At least 21 people have been killed Since Monday in the unrest, the interior minister said on Tuesday.
Mondlane, has since fled Mozambique, urging his supporters to demonstrate against what he described as a rigged vote. About 150 people have been killed in three months of protests since the elections
