The
Observatory has been informed about the killing of prominent
journalist João
Chamusse,
the co-owner and editor of electronic newspaper “Ponto por Ponto”
and a resident commentator on TV
Successo.
Mr Chamusse was a fervent defender of press and expression freedoms.
His work covered local politics and corruption, and he often
criticised the government for his poor human rights and corruption
record. He recently appeared as a political commentator on TV
Sucesso’s
special programme on municipal elections (‘Especial Eleições
Autárquicas 2023’).
In
the early hours of December 14, 2023, João
Chamusse was found dead in the backyard of his house in KaTembe, in
Maputo City, by neighbours who heard him scream for help during the
night. The journalist had a wound to his head and a machete and
gardening hoe were
found on the ground.
Meanwhile,
according to Mr Chamusse's family and work colleagues, two of his
mobile phones and a laptop have gone missing. Mr Chamusse would have
been forced to open the office of the newspaper near his home. His
body also shows signs that the journalist would have been tortured,
allegedly in order to take some information or an object.
Twenty-four
hours later, on December 15, 2023, the Mozambique Republic Police
(PRM) of Maputo Province identified
the alleged perpetrator
and said João Chamusse was murdered by a neighbour after an alleged
dispute over noise pollution. However, this thesis fails to explain
the reasons for the disappearance of two mobile phones and a laptop
belonging to the victim. The presumed murderer is detained in the
cells of the Matutuíne District Command in the Province of Maputo.
João
Chamusse had previously co-founded the weekly newspaper Canal
de Moçambique
and worked as a reporter at the Metical
newspaper, which was then edited by journalist Carlos
Cardoso,
who was murdered because of his activities as a journalist in 2000.
Another Mozambican journalist, Paulo Machavo, was killed in 2015, but
the Committee
to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has
not yet determined whether his death was related to his journalistic
work.
The
Observatory recalls that many attacks or arbitrary detentions against
journalists, led by security officers or government officials, were
reported in recent years in Mozambique, including against journalists
denouncing human rights violations committed by those actors and the
violent and extremist groups in the framework of the conflict in the
Northern province of Cabo Delgado. The cases of Arlindo
Chissale,
Germano
Daniel Adriano,
Amade
Abubacar,
Estacio
Valoi
and David
Matsinhe,
Pindai
Dube
and Ericino
de Salema
are only a few examples of this trend.
As
mentioned in the Observatory and Mozambique Network of Human Rights
Defenders (RMDDH)’s report “Silenced
Voices: Attacks Against Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders in
Mozambique”,
published in September 2023, while Article 48 of the Constitution of
Mozambique provides for freedom of expression and information,
including for members of the press and media, the government does not
effectively nor consistently respect these freedoms. Fear for
reprisals when criticising the Government is tangible among
journalists, academics, opposition leaders as well civil society at
large. In 2023, Mozambique ranked 102 out of 180 countries in
Reporters
Without Borders’ Index on freedom of the press.
New laws that would limit the space of work for journalists and
freedom of expression in general, were still being discussed at the
Parliament at the time of the Observatory’s mission in Mozambique
at the end of May 2023. The new draft media law (Lei
de Comunicação Social)
and new draft broadcasting law (Lei
de Radiodifusão),
first introduced to Parliament in 2021, are highly controversial, as
they could potentially affect, control or impose restrictions on both
national and international media. In addition, a new controversial
counter-terrorism
law
was adopted and published in July 2022, which Article 20 (Divulgação
de informação)
part 2 provides for two to eight years imprisonment for anyone who
intentionally spreads false information about a terrorist act. This
provision clearly threatens freedom of expression and the press. It
gives a free hand to the authorities to silence the media, activists,
human rights defenders and civil society at large when it comes to
independent reporting on terrorist acts and, for example, the
conflict in Cabo Delgado Province where Mozambican forces are
operating.
The
Observatory strongly condemns the killing of João
Chamusse and urges the authorities of Mozambique to carry out
immediate, thorough, impartial, and transparent investigations into
this killing, to identify all those responsible, bring them before an
independent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law, as
well clarify the real motive behind this crime. The Observatory also
urges the authorities of Mozambique to promote and respect, in all
circumstances, the fundamental rights to freedom of the press and
expression, as enshrined in Articles 19 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and in Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights.
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