VZCZCXRO4117
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #0391/01 0781713
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191713Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0143
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0364
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000391 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DS/IP/AF 
DS/DSS/ITA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI TBIO SENV KCRM KTIP PHUM ASEC
MZ 
SUBJECT: CHOLERA RIOTS, PRISON DEATHS, AND CIVIL UNREST IN 
NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE 
 
REF: A. MAPUTO 10 
     ¶B. 08MAPUTO1248 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: On March 17, thirteen Mozambicans died in 
a police cell in the district police command of Mogincual, 
Nampula Province, of asphyxia and suffocation, according to 
Mozambican Police (PRM) reports of autopsy results.  The 
detained persons were kept in a 4 by 2 meter cell with little 
ventilation that was designed for 12, but held between 34 and 
48 detainees according to various news sources.  Twenty-nine 
of those detained were members of a group of RENAMO 
sympathizers who were in custody since March 14 in connection 
with allegations of spreading disinformation about the Red 
Cross, efforts to fight cholera.  Though the volunteers were 
adding chlorine to village wells and water points in the 
district, locals believed they were in fact adding cholera to 
their wells.  Well-known sociologist Carlos Serra lays the 
blame on local distrust of foreigners and disinformation 
about chlorine treatment of water, which manifested itself in 
2003 riots in Nampula over the same subject.  More recently 
on March 14, violence broke out in the village of Quinga 
targeting Red Cross volunteers.  The riots resulted in the 
deaths of 3 Mozambican Red Cross workers, two PRM officers, 
and the injury of a further 20 Red Cross employees, with 12 
still unaccounted for.  No Americans were involved in the 
incidents.  The Red Cross has halted its efforts in the 
district, and many other NGOs have temporarily halted their 
activities due to the unrest.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
13 DIE IN POLICE CUSTODY, 5 KILLED IN RIOTS 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Red Cross reports that 3 volunteers were 
killed, 20 were injured, and 12 are unaccounted for in March 
14 riots in the village of Quinga, Mogincual district, that 
resulted from villagers believing widespread disinformation 
about Red Cross volunteers contaminating water points, rather 
than chlorinating water sources.  Two PRM officers were also 
killed in the riots.  The village of Quinga is reportedly 
deserted following the riots, with schools remaining closed. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The PRM District Commander Domingos Coutinho and 
Director of the Police Investigations Unit (PIC) Basilio 
Nakoto have been suspended in response to the death of 13 
Mozambicans who died of asphyxia and suffocation while in 
custody for questioning related to the cholera riots. The 13 
were part of a group of 29 RENAMO sympathizers who were being 
held for allegedly spreading disinformation about a Red Cross 
program to fight cholera in the region by chlorinating rural 
water points.  RENAMO spokeswoman Ivone Soares categorically 
denies that her party gave any instruction to disseminate 
disinformation.  The 29 were held with up to 19 other 
detainees in a 4 by 2 meter cell with little ventilation 
since March 14.  Family members reported to the press that 
though the incarcerated called for assistance from cell 
guards, their requests were ignored. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
NUMBER OF CHOLERA CASES HIGH THIS YEAR 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The incidence of cholera cases continues to be 
higher than normal this year in Mozambique, with the total 
case load at about 1,000 per week country-wide, with more 
than 12,000 cases occurring in 2009, and a mortality rate of 
roughly one percent.  Across Mozambique, the number of new 
cholera cases has begun to slow as the rainy season ends, 
except in Nampula province where 3,033 cases have occurred 
since January 2009.  The Ministry of Health (MOH) continues 
to hold weekly cholera meetings, but have received little 
buy-in from other ministries such as Public Works to promote 
better access to adequate quantities of water for hygiene and 
adequate sanitation facilities.  Minister of Health Paulo 
Garrido has requested the development of a Cholera Strategic 
Plan by March 20.  The Ministry of Health does not have 
sufficient capacity to handle the current cholera outbreak in 
terms of personnel and facilities, although they are 
receiving some assistance from donors. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
RURAL DISEMPOWERMENT LEADS TO VIOLENCE 
-------------------------------------- 
 
MAPUTO 00000391  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The March 14 riots are very similar to 
cholera-related violence that occurred in 2003 in Nampula, in 
which the ruling FRELIMO party also blamed RENAMO for a 
campaign of disinformation, according to University Eduardo 
Mondlane (UEM) sociologist Carlos Serra.  In a 2003 study, 
Serra pointed to growing dissatisfaction among people in 
rural areas who blame the Government of Mozambique (GRM) for 
not providing them with sufficient infrastructure.  As such, 
Serra saw the 2003 riots as a protest against both the GRM 
and NGOs whom they view as providing unfulfilled promises of 
a better life, but in reality have distanced themselves from 
rural people and failed to provide basic services.  Serra 
warns that outside of the major cities, Mozambicans often see 
the GRM and NGO employees as symbols of their own 
disempowerment, and the riots are symptomatic of their lack 
of access to infrastructure and employment.  In 2003, Serra's 
study found no evidence of any RENAMO campaign of 
disinformation despite the ruling party's accusations. 
 
----------------------------------- 
COMMENT: POPULAR DISCONTENT BREWING 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The death of 13 Mozambicans in Mogincual underlies 
the significant popular concerns with the Ministry of 
Interior, particularly the PRM, issues we raised in the 2008 
Human Rights Report, as do the rioting and mob justice that 
resulted in the lynching of three Red Cross volunteers and 
two PRM officials on March 14.  Dissatisfaction with the GRM 
among rural groups who have yet to see tangible results of 
Mozambique's GDP growth suggests that there is deep-seated 
frustration, and a sense of disempowerment.  The possibility 
of spontaneous violence and civil unrest, experienced in 
February 2008, may increase as Mozambique experiences further 
impacts of the global financial crisis in this election year. 
Chapman