(Posted in Portuguese on the 19th)
Today, 19 December 2024, we remember with great pain and outrage the brutal assassination of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, which occurred two months ago. We are still waiting for answers and justice regarding Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe! Who ordered the killings? Who pulled the trigger? We will not forget, and we will not stop demanding justice, even knowing that our justice system is deficient, partisan, and shamefully slow.
Our anguish and outrage have only grown, as has the number of Mozambicans killed (at least 130 people), injured, arrested, and tortured by the State Defence and Security Forces. So many Mozambicans have been murdered for demanding electoral justice and standing up for their rights that they have now become numbers — 130 people. But who are these Mozambicans? The deaths have become so great we cannot name them, they have been reduced to numbers. Yet they are not just numbers; they are Mozambican citizens who had families, dreams, and aspirations. They went out to protest for those dreams, for their rights, for our rights and freedoms… Therefore, this is not merely about 130 mourning families; we are all in mourning and stand, not only with these families, but also with those who risk their lives everyday.
No words can ease the pain of those who have lost their loved ones in such a manner. It wasn’t an accident, an illness, or old age; they were barbarically murdered by the very police who swore to protect them.
We demand justice. We demand that all these cases be thoroughly investigated and that all those involved — from the shooters to those who gave the orders from their offices, and even those who had the power to stop this massacre but failed to act, making them accomplices — be held accountable. Today, these words take on a new dimension. When we demand justice, we usually direct our demands at a specific entity. But today, we are unsure who that entity is. To whom do we demand this justice? The State? But it was the State Defence and Security Forces that killed, arrested, and persecuted demonstrators. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which remains silent and acts only in defence of the corrupt and against opposition parties? We have never seen justice come from the PGR, making it hard to believe it ever will.
The current situation only confirms what we and so many others have been denouncing for years: the State and its institutions are completely co-opted and partisan, serving only the ruling party, which clings to power through these very State institutions. This includes the State Defence and Security Forces, which follow illegal orders and murder citizens protesting against grave and evident rights violations and abuses of power.
The actions of the Constitutional Council (CC) are merely the latest act in this orchestrated circus. Today, we see judges behaving like soap opera actors, arrogantly and pompously presenting themselves as the ultimate arbiters of truth while we all wait anxiously for their decision about our fate.
If we recall the process of validating the highly contested and irregular 2023 municipal elections, which this same body approved, it becomes clear that expecting truth and justice from the CC is as likely as expecting well-known corrupt individuals to voluntarily turn themselves in and return all they have stolen from our country. In other words, highly improbable.
Our greatest hope at this moment is for the CC to surprise us and show that they truly stand for truth and justice so that we can rebuild our country based on the people’s rights, centred on justice and equality for all.
Until then, we will continue to remember and honour all those who, believing in a fairer country for all of us, were barbarically murdered. From mourning, we rise to struggle for the country we believe we can build together.
Forever in our hearts, Dear Elvino.
Forever in our hearts, Dear Paulo.