Mozambique: Malawians Destroy Homes in Tete

Maputo — About 50 Malawian citizens entered Mozambique on 2 September, and destroyed six houses, a vehicle and other property in Angonia district, in the western province of Tete, according to a report on Radio Mozambique.

The Malawian gang is also reported to have injured two Mozambicans with bush knives, and to have stolen an unspecified amount of cash and goods.

A Mozambican police officer was cited as saying that the incident started when a Malawian citizen, married to a Mozambican woman, and running a small business selling home-made traditional drinks in the Angonia locality of Mlangeni, near the border, refused to sell the product to some of his compatriots because it was too late in the night.

The police said that investigations are underway to identify the offenders and bring them to justice.

Radio Mozambique confirmed on Monday that life is gradually returning to normal in Mlangeni. People have started rebuilding the destroyed houses, but some of them are still traumatized by the violence.

One primary school teacher, Esperanca Edson, said that she lost almost all her property and was threatened by the Malawians. She added that almost all the victims need some kind of humanitarian support.

The Mozambican High Commission in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, and the Consulate in Blantyre said that they are closely following the incident.

This happened at a time when the Malawi-Mozambique Joint Defence and Security Commission was meeting to discuss the August incident when members of the Malawian police destroyed a Mozambican police post in Ngauma district, in the northern province of Niassa. The meeting decided to set up a commission on inquiry to investigate this incident.

The Malawian National Intelligence Service (NIS) also threatened the Mozambican Consul in Blantyre, Felix Mambule, last weekend. Mambule was in Nsanje, in the far south of Malawi, when three NIS agents demanded that he provide them with the list of all Mozambican residents in Malawi who have registered to vote in the Mozambican presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled for 28 October.

Despite the threats, Mambule stood his ground, and refused to hand over the list. He described the attitude of the NIS agents as a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. He added that the registration of Mozambican voters living in Malawi was undertaken with the full knowledge of the Malawian authorities.

Mambule said that it was high time for Mozambique to take a firm position towards the recent incidents involving Malawian attacks on Mozambicans and Mozambican institutions.