Cited by the paper, MDM general secretary Luis Boavida, claimed that the assailants came from outside Angoche and were led by Mario Albino, a former Nampula provincial delegate of the MDM.
The group vandalized the office and their purpose, allegedly, was to entice MDM members in Angoche to join a new political association, which intends to transform itself into a political party and context the 20 November local elections in six northern municipalities, all in Nampula province.
According to Boavida, the new proto-party is led by his predecessor as MDM general secretary, Ismael Mussa. Mussa was elected to the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on the MDM ticket in the 2009 general elections, and he remains a member of the MDM parliamentary group.
However, a dispute between Mussa and the head of the MDM parliamentary group, Lutero Simango in 2010, led to the group depriving Mussa of the right to speak in parliamentary debates.
According to Boavida when Albino’s group reached Angoche, he claimed that he was still a member of the party, met with the local MDM leadership, and attempted to persuade them to join the new association.
Boavida added that the group tried to bribe MDM members to leave their party. They promised goods such as bicycles and motorbikes, and monthly allowances to anyone who would leave the MDM.
It is not yet clear how successful this tactic has been, and how many people have left the MDM in Angoche.
Angoche must be high on the MDM’s list of target municipalities, since it was once run by the opposition. Angoche is one of the five towns and cities that were governed by the former rebel movement Renamo between 2003 and 2008. In the 2008 local elections, the ruling Frelimo Party won back control of Angoche, and the MDM must hope to reverse that position in November.
Post published in: Africa News