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A lawyer representing a prominent opposition figure was gunned down in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, alongside a party official. Elvino Dias, attorney for Venâncio Mondlane, the presidential candidate of the Podemos political party, was killed just days after Mozambique’s contentious elections. The brutal attack also claimed the life of Paulo Guambe, another key official from the same party.
The deadly ambush occurred as Dias and Guambe were driving through Maputo. Their car was riddled with bullets, reportedly between 10 to 15 shots, in what local rights groups have condemned as a calculated and cold-blooded assassination. According to the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), the two victims died instantly at the scene, with the group’s director, Adriano Nuvunga, labeling the murders an attempt to silence voices calling for electoral transparency.
Witness accounts suggest that while Dias died immediately, Guambe initially survived the attack but later succumbed to his injuries. Disturbingly, witnesses also claimed that the police obstructed efforts to save Guambe, allegedly delaying an ambulance that had arrived to provide assistance.
Onlookers further alleged that police engaged in acts of intimidation, confiscating phones and preventing recordings of the crime scene.
The Mozambican police, however, have denied any misconduct. Spokesman Lionel Muchina stated that the police were taking all necessary steps to prevent further unrest, while also condemning the murders and pledging to investigate the incident.
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