SA police fire rubber bullets, stun grenades at Mozambican protesters

SA police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse crowds of Mozambicans attempting to push through the border gate at the Lebombo port of entry today after the frontier was closed due to postelection unrest in Mozambique.

The border was shut by the Border Management Authority (BMA) on Tuesday after demonstrations against Mozambique’s general election results spread on Monday to the town of Ressano Garcia on the border. Protesters seized trucks and used it to block roads, and lit fires on the border, forcing seven Mozambican border agents to flee to SA, according to the BMA commissioner Michael Masiapato.

“We advise all stakeholders to suspend travel through Lebombo port until further notice. Alternative routes to Mozambique must be used where feasible until the situation has stabilised,” Masiapato said.

“SA officials are on the ground assisting with seven officials from the Mozambican side having requested refuge on the SA side for safety and protection. The BMA and its counterparts are working urgently to address the situation, and we appreciate the co-operation we are receiving.”

The BMA said the decision was taken to “ensure the safety of all cross-border transporters, travellers, traders and officials operating at the port” and the border will be reopened “as soon as it is safe to do so”.

Unrest continued this morning when BMA officials informed a group of Mozambicans in SA that they could cross into Mozambique but would not be allowed to return to SA as there were no Mozambican border staff to process their passports.

Some Mozambicans tried to force their way through and hurled stones at border officials, prompting SA police to use rubber bullets and stun grenades to control the crowd.

The border violence comes as the Mozambique Medical Association announced on Tuesday that 108 people had been shot and 16 killed in protests after the announcement of the results of the general elections in October, which gave a landslide victory to the ruling party, Frelimo, and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo. Voting was marred by widespread allegations of fraud by election observers.

The Southern African Development Community is set to meet for a summit in the Zimbabwe capital of Harare on November 16-20 to discuss the elections in Mozambique, among other “emerging issues of regional significance”, the Zimbabwe information minister Jenfan Muswere said on Tuesday.