Nampula: Local Voices: In Quinga, anarchy prevails with no response from authorities

 

During the protests and the misinformation regarding the cholera outbreak in Nampula province, north of Mozambique especially in the district of Liupo, in the administrative post of Quinga, the situation has been worsening more and more.

A week ago, in Quinga, a meeting was held where a new regulus (traditional leader) was chosen.

Afterward, some protesters began vandalizing houses and, then, reporting the damage caused. On January 4, 2025, the protesters returned to vandalize the homes of Brazilians and looted the victims' belongings. All the stolen items were presented to the regulus, and he entrusted some people with gathering information about their operations.

According to someone who provided me with information, the situation can no longer be considered a protest, but rather a widespread looting, with the protesters acting as thieves and stealing goods from the homes they vandalized.

Today, January 5, 2025, a group of people who opposed the events in Quinga decided to visit the homes of the protesters' representatives to recover the stolen items. At that point, two groups emerged, but the protesters (thieves) opposed the idea of returning the looted goods. Since the group of protesters was large, they managed to humiliate those who wanted to recover the people's property. They captured 15 men from this group and took them to the regulu's house.

Upon arriving there, the regulus said that they were wrong and that each person had to pay 500 meticais. Out of fear, the men ended up paying the amount demanded, and some were beaten. So far, there has been no intervention from the police, as there is no other leadership able to intervene, other than the police, which is located 45 km away at the district headquarters.

To clarify, those who paid were the ones who tried to recover the stolen goods from the protesters (thieves) to return them to their rightful owners, as they did not agree with the situation. However, since the regulus is involved with this group of protesters (thieves), he forced the new group to pay the required amount.

As for the former regulus, who was known to the authorities, his house was vandalized, and he fled the area. Even if he had stayed, he would not have been accepted by the protesters, nor by others connected to the government, as their goal is to establish a new government. (BP in facts of Quinga)