‘Ready to die’: Protesters face bullets for political change in Mozambique

By Shola Lawal

Published On 31 Oct 202431 Oct 2024

Rights activist Cidia Chissungo has spent the last few days poring over images she never thought she’d see in Mozambique: Young men with bloodied bodies pockmarked with bullet wounds; teenagers with eyes swollen shut from being hit with tear gas canisters by the Mozambican police.

Chissungo, 28, who is documenting the scale of ongoing post-election violence that broke out last week, says the images of dead and injured people circulating online have caused her to lose sleep.

“There’s a 16-year-old guy who was shot in the mouth, and his mouth was completely destroyed,” Chissungo told Al Jazeera. “There’s just a hole where his mouth was. Every time I close my eyes, I have that image in my head.”

Keep readingyoung Mozambicans are paying a deadly price as the country faces some of the worst violence to follow an election. Clashes first broke out last Monday after police opened fire on supporters of 50-year-old opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane. By Friday, at least 11 people had been killed, many others injured – including a policeman – and about 400 people detained, according to Human Rights Watch.

On Thursday, thousands of protesters are expected to again take to the streets in protest in Maputo, the capital, and other cities, ignoring calls by outgoing President Filipe Nyusi to stay home.

Demonstrators are angry at the results of the October 9 elections that saw the long-ruling Frelimo (Mozambique Liberation Front) party candidate Daniel Chapo sweep the polls, while Mondlane, a favourite among young people, came a distant second. The opposition alleges votes were rigged, and election observers also noted some irregularities.least 11 people have died in a police crackdown on post-election protests following disputed October 9 polls.Rights activist Cidia Chissungo has spent the last few days poring over images she never thought she’d see in Mozambique: Young men with bloodied bodies pockmarked with bullet wounds; teenagers with eyes swollen shut from being hit with tear gas canisters by the Mozambican police.

Chissungo, 28, who is documenting the scale of ongoing post-election violence that broke out last week, says the images of dead and injured people circulating online have caused her to lose sleep.

“There’s a 16-year-old guy who was shot in the mouth, and his mouth was completely destroyed,” Chissungo told Al Jazeera. “There’s just a hole where his mouth was. Every time I close my eyes, I have that image in my head.”