Some 6,000 prisoners broke free from a high-security prison in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, on Wednesday, according to police authorities, as weeks-long post-election violence continues to rock the Southern African nation.
The country’s police chief, Bernadino Rafael, said the prisoners escaped from the Maputo Central Prison on Christmas Day, following what he called a “revolt”.
At least 33 prisoners died and 15 were injured as the prisoners confronted security forces during their escape, he added. Officials at first said 1,500 detainees escaped, but revised that number up on Friday, according to The Associated Press news agency.
At least 151 people have died in clashes between demonstrators and security forces since the controversial October 9 elections, according to Plataforma Eleitoral Decide, an election monitoring group.
Here’s what to know about the violence that’s roiling the country, and the prison break that has cast a light on the nation’s crisis:
What’s happening in Mozambique?
The country is in the grip of widespread, violent riots that broke out following the controversial October 9 elections, which extended the long-ruling Frelimo party’s hold on power and awarded its candidate Daniel Chapo the presidency with 65 percent of votes cast.
Frelimo has ruled since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1975, but has increasingly lost its appeal, especially among young people, as the country experiences high levels of economic hardship and unrest in its north.
Firebrand opposition candidate, Venancio Mondlane, who placed second with 24 percent of votes, rejected and legally challenged the election results, as did other opposition candidates. Election observers, including from the country’s Association of Catholic Bishops and the European Union, alleged that the election results were altered.
Riots first broke out when two members of Podemos, a party backing Mondlane, were killed by unidentified gunmen on October 19. Mondlane’s supporters, who blame the government, have since taken to the streets in cities across the country, setting up roadblocks with burning tyres, as well as burning police stations and government offices and attacking businesses. Security forces have brutally cracked down, opening live fire at demonstrators.
New violence broke out this week after the country’s highest electoral court reaffirmed Chapo’s win on Monday. Mondlane called on his supporters to “shut down” the country for five days until Friday.
Weeks of unrest have affected the country’s economy and cut the number of tourists who visit its famous white beaches. The International Monetary Fund downgraded a previously forecasted 5 percent growth rate to 4.3 percent in November.
How did prisoners break free?
There are conflicting reports on how exactly the prison revolt began on Wednesday, and whether protesters from the outside were involved.
Police chief Rafael on Wednesday said there was an “agitation” by a group of “subversive” protesters in the vicinity of the Maputo Central Prison, a high-security facility located 14km (9 miles) southwest of Maputo.
“They (protesters) were making noise, demanding that they be able to remove the prisoners who are there serving their sentences,” Rafael said.
The official added that prisoners took advantage of the unrest to knock down a wall, allowing some people to flee.
Some prisoners then overpowered prison guards, snatched their AK-47 rifles and started to free other prisoners, the chief said. It’s not clear if the demonstrators also breached the prison and helped some detainees break out of the facility.
Video footage shared on X showed the moment hundreds of prisoners appeared to push open a tall gate in the prison and escape.
Some analysts say that fleeing prisoners likely took advantage of the lighter security detail guarding the facility over the Christmas holidays, as compared with regular working days.
Rafael said there were 29 “convicted terrorists” among the escapees, referring to imprisoned members of the al-Shabab armed group, which has waged war in the country’s northern province of Cabo Delgado since 2017 in hopes of creating an Islamic state. That conflict has killed more than 33,000 people and caused hundreds of thousands to be displaced.
On Wednesday,Justice Minister Helena Kida told local broadcaster Miramar TV that the unrest began inside the prison, and that protesters outside did not have anything to do with it.
Have any prisoners been recaptured?
Yes. The police commander said officials recaptured 150 of the prisoners by Wednesday.
Videos shared on X show dozens of prisoners running through what appeared to be a residential neighbourhood, raising their hands and celebrating as they ran.
Many of the prisoners had run into random homes to hide from authorities, but gun-toting police followed and were able to capture some of them, according to videos circulating on social media.
In a video recording, one prisoner who still had handcuffs on his right wrist told authorities he had been held in the disciplinary section of the prison and that he was released by other inmates.
What has Venancio Mondlane said?
Mondlane, who is in exile in an unknown location, has been communicating with his supporters on Facebook. He has used the platform to denounce the elections and to call for protests.
Amid the new violence this week, Mondlane again took to Facebook late on Tuesday pledging to install himself as president on January 15, the same day president-elect Daniel Chapo has his inauguration.
Venancio in a separate video on Thursday accused security forces of inciting looting and unrest in the country as part of a wider plan, in order for the government to declare a state of emergency and clamp down on his supporters.
The politician claimed there had been “no police intervention” during this week’s bouts of violence, adding that authorities were “essentially encouraging people to attack and steal”.
He continued to call for “electoral justice” by the election authorities and for an end to Frelimo’s rule.
How has the international community reacted?
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern at the violence, spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said on Thursday.
Guterres urged political leaders and relevant parties to seek a peaceful resolution and “to defuse tensions including through meaningful dialogue (and) legal redress”, the spokesperson said.
Similarly, African Union chairperson Moussa Faki said he felt “deep concern” at the ongoing violence, particularly the new riots this week, and called for calm.
Earlier on Monday, following the constitutional court’s confirmation of Chapo’s presidency, the United States called on Mozambican authorities and “all stakeholders to refrain from violence and engage in meaningful collaboration to restore peace and foster unity”.
In a statement, spokesman Matthew Miller re-iterated that observers from the US, as well as other international monitors, had “cited significant irregularities in the tabulation process, as well as concern about the lack of transparency throughout the election period”.
Miller added that “those responsible for violations of human rights, including the killing of protesters and party officials and excessive use of force by security forces, must be held accountable.”
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