In Manica town, residents of the April 7 neighbourhood complain that they were not covered by the expansion of electricity, allegedly for supporting the opposition. The local council of Manica has provided funds for electrification, however the neighbourhood of Raça, where Renamo sympathizers reside, has not yet had access, Renamo’s Manica Information Officer Bento Guirau said, following a meeting with residents of Raça yesterday (30 September).
Contacted by the Bulletin, EDM district delegate in Manica Pedro Bero, partially supported the Renamo claim. He blamed a lack of electrical equipment for the delay, but added that the adjoining neighbourhood had had special sponsorship by the Manica City Council.
Renamo Information Officer beaten by Frelimo supporters
Renamo’s Chief Information Officer in Moatize, Tete, Inácio Razão, was beaten by two supporters of Frelimo, forcing him to remove his party’s campaign shirt, yesterday (30 September) in Nkondezi, Zobue, Tete. “Don’t you know we don’t want Renamo here?” the Frelimo supporters said during the beating. Renamo reported the case to the Zobue police station and those involved were summoned to the police today.
Accusations
Parties make accusations which are often hard to verify.
Frelimo says Renamo killed two Frelimo. In Milange, Zambezia, two Frelimo supporters, Benjamin Nicupatimba and Rodrigues Chinambua, lost their lives on September 27 and 28, victims of assault by alleged Renamo members. The assault took place on 9 September and the victims were admitted to the local hospital. Although discharged later, they died on their injuries on 27 and 28 September, according to Frelimo district secretary Ismael Noronha on the programme “The Voice of the Citizen” broadcast on Milange community radio, Zambézia.
A Frelimo party headquarters burned down last night (September 30) in Lunga, Muaualo, Mussoril district, Nampula province. Mossuril’s Frelimo chief, Evan Business, accuses Renamo supporters of setting fire to the building. “Yesterday they tried to burn a car of a Frelimo member in the Matibane area as they returned from the campaign,” said Evan Business. Business also accused Renamo of campaigning door-to-door in quiet of the night (which is not illegal).
Renamo objects to new groups of police officers to Morrumbala, Zambézia, which it considers its zone of influence, and where the party maintains a military base in the locality of Sabe. On 24 September, Protection Police officers were deployed to the district. “These police have been assigned to the district to facilitate fraud so that Frelimo can win the election,” said Neves de Brito Dai, Renamo district attorney. “We had never seen a lot of police like that, and they have already started extorting residents,” he said. Morrumbala is an opposition bastion and Frelimo has never won an elections there since 1994.
