NAIROBI
The same day Mozambique’s new president was sworn in, post-election violence claimed seven more lives.
At least seven people were killed when the new president was inaugurated on Wednesday for a five-year term, a watchdog said.
Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party was sworn in as new president in the shadow of ongoing post-election violence in the Southeastern African nation.
The fresh casualties were reported in the capital Maputo and the northern city of Nampula, according to Plataforma Decide.
It added that the death toll has climbed to 307 since protests began in the wake of elections last Oct. 9.
At least 600 people have been shot and more than 4,000 detained amid ongoing violent protests since Oct. 21, said the watchdog.
Protests continued to erupt across the African nation since the electoral commission declared Chapo the winner of the Oct. 9 elections, a result strongly contested by the opposition, which called the outcome “grossly doctored.”
On Dec. 23, the country’s Constitutional Council validated the election’s outcome.
The Mozambique National Resistance Movement and Mozambique Democratic Movement boycotted the inauguration. Chapo won with 65% of the vote, versus 20% for his rival Venancio Mondlane, according to the electoral council.
