Hundreds flee Maputo jail amid poll protests

More than 1,500 prisoners have escaped from prisons in Mozambique, using a political trap set up by dissent over election results, police said.

Thirty-three people have been killed and 15 injured in clashes with security guards, police chief Bernardino Rafael told a press conference.

About 150 refugees have also been arrested, he said.

The protests were held on Monday in response to Mozambique’s top court ruling that the ruling Frelimo party, which has been in power since 1975, had won the presidential election in October.

Mr Rafael said groups of anti-government protesters arrived on Wednesday at the prison in the city of Maputo. The inmates used the commotion to break down a wall and escape, he said.

There have been riots in Mozambique since the October elections. Official results have shown that the candidate for the Frelimo election, Daniel Chapo, has won.

Fresh protests erupted on Monday when the Constitutional Court ruled that Chapo was the winner of the election, while also revising his margin of victory.

Preliminary results in October showed Daniel Chapo with 71% of the vote while his main rival Venâncio Mondlane got 20%. The court has now ruled that he won 65% while Mondlane won 24%.

A A BBC reporter found out Maputo was a mock town on Christmas Day, with almost all businesses closed and people staying at home to avoid being caught up in the riots that have gripped the city since Frelimo came to power in 1975.

Frelimo offices, police stations, banks and factories have been looted, vandalized and set on fire across the country. Since Monday, at least 21 people have been killed in the riots, the interior minister said late Tuesday.

Mondlane, who has fled Mozambique, has been calling on his supporters to protest against what he says is fraud.

In a social media post last week, he said there could be “new chaos” if the results are not resolved.

About 150 people have been killed in the three months of protests since the election.