Hundreds escape Mozambique prison amid election protests
Over 1,500 prisoners have escaped from a prison in Mozambique, taking advantage of the ongoing political unrest sparked by disputed election results, according to police.
Thirty-three people were killed, and 15 others were injured in clashes with guards, police chief Bernardino Rafael reported at a press conference.
Approximately 150 fugitives have since been recaptured, he added.
The unrest followed protests on Monday after Mozambique’s highest court upheld the ruling Frelimo party’s victory in the October presidential elections.
Rafael stated that anti-government protesters gathered near the prison in the capital, Maputo, on Wednesday. During the chaos, prisoners took the opportunity to break through a wall and flee.
Mozambique has been facing turmoil since the controversial October elections. Official results declared Frelimo’s candidate, Daniel Chapo, the winner.
Fresh protests erupted on Monday when the constitutional court confirmed Chapo’s win but adjusted his margin of victory downward.
Initial results in October had Chapo securing 71% of the vote, with his main rival, Venâncio Mondlane, getting 20%. However, the court revised the figures to show Chapo with 65%, while Mondlane received 24%.
A BBC reporter found Maputo on Christmas Eve eerily quiet, with nearly all businesses closed and people staying indoors to avoid getting caught up in the worst unrest the city has seen since Frelimo came to power in 1975.
Frelimo’s offices, police stations, banks and factories have been looted, vandalised and set ablaze around the country. Since Monday, at least 21 people have been killed in the unrest, the interior minister said late on Tuesday.
Mondlane, who has since fled Mozambique, had been calling on his supporters to demonstrate against what he said was a rigged vote.
In a weekend social media message, he said there could be a “new popular uprising” if the result was not overturned.
About 150 people have been killed in three months of protests since the elections.
