Cholera misinformation fuels deadly violence in Mozambique

At least three community leaders in Mozambique have been killed and around 50 houses set on fire following a wave of misinformation about a cholera outbreak, the authorites have said.

Officials said most of the attacks have been led by the Naparamas, a militia group that has taken up arms against jihadists in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

This week a protest accusing authorities of spreading cholera through medicine resulted in the destruction of more than a dozen houses.

According to local sources, the Naparamas also destroyed a cholera treatment centre.

Officials have expressed concern that the Naparamas may fuel insecurity in Mozambique unless urgent measures are taken against them.

António Supeia, the secretary of state for Cabo Delgado, said earlier this month: “The Naparamas are confronting the state by attacking police, community leaders and preventing assistance to the population.

“We already have other problems, such as people being raped due to terrorism. Leaders are mobilising populations daily to combat terrorism and we do not want another terror to emerge.”

By Jose Tembe