Good afternoon. The brutal killing of a police officer on the N1 highway in the neighbourhood of Bobole in Maputo province this morning (see below) should concern everyone interested in Mozambique’s political and economic stability. According to unconfirmed reports on social media, the police officer was believed to have shot at a minibus that failed to stop at a police roadblock, and to have caused the death of a child. If true, that would be the second time in just over a month that police have been known to shoot at a vehicle for failing to stop when required; in July they shot at one that avoided going through a toll gate in Inhambane province.
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The public response was no less violent than the alleged police provocation. The police officer thought to be responsible was caught, beaten and then (dead or alive) set on fire. Protesters also blocked the N1, Mozambique’s only north-south arterial road, which remained blocked several hours later.
