Hundreds escape from prison in Maputo amid pre-election protests

More than 1,500 inmates have escaped from a prison in Mozambique, taking advantage of ongoing political unrest sparked by disputed election results, police said.

Thirty-three people were killed and 15 wounded in clashes with security, police chief Bernardino Rafael told a news conference.

About 150 more fugitives have been caught since then, he added.

Protests erupted on Monday in response to Mozambique’s highest court confirming this week that the ruling Frelimo party, in power since 1975, had won October’s presidential election.

Mr Raphael said groups of anti-government protesters approached the prison in the capital Maputo on Wednesday. The inmates used the disturbance to break down a wall and escape, he said.

Mozambique has been rocked by unrest since disputed elections in October. Official results showed that the ruling Frelimo’s presidential candidate Daniel Chapo won.

Fresh protests erupted on Monday when the constitutional court ruled that Chapo had won the election, reducing his margin of victory.

Initial results in October showed Daniel Chapo winning a 71% share of the vote compared to 20% for his main rival Venancio Mondlane. The court has now ruled that he won 65% to Mondlane’s 24%.

A A BBC reporter discovered Maputo was like a ghost town on Christmas Eve, with almost all businesses closed and people staying at home to avoid the city’s biggest riots since Frelimo first came to power in 1975.

Frelimo offices, police stations, banks and factories were looted, vandalized and burned across the country. At least 21 people have been killed in the unrest since Monday, the interior minister said late Tuesday.

Mondlane, who has since fled Mozambique, called on his supporters to demonstrate against what he said was a rigged vote.

In a message on social media over the weekend, he said there could be “a new popular uprising” if the result is not overturned.

About 150 people were killed in the three months of post-election protests.