by Nurat Uthman
Mozambican opposition leader Venancio Mondlane called his supporters to three days of mourning from Wednesday for 50 people he said were killed by security forces in protests after last month’s disputed elections.
In a Facebook address watched by tens of thousands of people, the 50-year-old again demanded a recount of the October 9 vote which the electoral commission said was won by a landslide by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for nearly five decades.
“We lost 50 people shot by the authorities who were supposed to protect these people,” said Mondlane, whose whereabouts are unknown. “They died as martyrs of a revolution, of change.”
Neither the police nor the government have confirmed a death toll.
Announcing a new wave of protests against a vote he called fraudulent, Mondlane urged his supporters to wear black for the three days of mourning. But he asked not to return to the streets where they risked being attacked by police officers.
“This is a unique and historic opportunity for us to change the chaotic state of our country,” he said
