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Why have Mozambique’s politics got so deadly?

“After the shooting of Elvino and Paulo, we saw on social media the list of those who will face the threats or the bullets of the regime… and one of these names, it’s my nameâ€

The killing of two high-ranking members of the Podemos political party in Mozambique has sent shock waves through the country.

Elvino Dias and Paul Guambe were murdered in a hail of bullets in the capital Maputo in the early hours of the 19th of October.

The leader of the Podemos party, Venancio Mondlane has accused the ruling Frelimo party of being behind the killings, a charge the government denies.

The murders happened ten days after the country voted in national elections, a process that the government says was free and fair, and which opposition parties say was marred by election rigging. Frelimo won the election with 70% of the vote, and Podemos came second with 20%.

So at a time of political tension, Africa Daily's Mpho Lakaje examine how this double murder could affect the political landscape of Mozambique.

Guests: Dr Jussuf Adam, an academic in Mozambique who studies the contemporary history of his country, and Dr Edson Cortez, Director of the Public Integrity Centre, a civil society organisation in Mozambique.

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19 minutes

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