MAPUTO — According to officials, more than 1,500 inmates have broken out of a Mozambican prison, capitalizing on the continuing political upheaval brought on by contested election results. According to police head Bernardino Rafael, skirmishes with guards resulted in 33 fatalities and 15 injuries. Since then, he said, over 150 more fugitives have been apprehended.
The highest court in Mozambique confirmed Monday that the Frelimo party, which has ruled the country since 1975, had won the October presidential election, sparking protests. Groups of anti-government demonstrators, according to Rafael, made their way to the prison in Maputo on Wednesday. He said inmates took advantage of the disturbance to tear down a wall and make their getaway.
After contentious elections in October, Mozambique has been racked by instability. According to official results, Daniel Chapo, the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo, won. After the constitutional court declared that Chapo had won the election, but lowered his margin of victory, more protests broke out on Monday. According to preliminary results released in October, Daniel Chapo received 71% of the vote, compared to 20% for his primary opponent Venâncio Mondlane. According to the court’s latest ruling, he won 65% to Mondlane’s 24%.
On Christmas Eve, a BBC reporter discovered that Maputo was almost a ghost town, with nearly all businesses closed and residents hiding indoors to avoid becoming entangled in the city’s worst unrest since Frelimo took office in 1975.
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