Mozambique to investigate woman’s ‘horrifying’ execution

The men are seen repeatedly whipping her as she screams in pain. They then proceed to mow her down in a hail of bullets, firing over 30 rounds. Photo: Twitter/Zenaida Machado.

The Mozambique government has promised to investigate a disturbing video of people dressed in army uniforms killing a naked woman. The unverified video, reportedly filmed in the Cabo Delgado province in north Mozambique was shared by Human Rights Watch researcher Zenaida Machado on twitter, eliciting widespread furore.

“Very graphic video shows men in military uniform in Mozambique - apparently Cabo Delgado - chasing a naked woman, beating her with sticks and then killing her with several gunshots,” wrote Machado, a former BBC producer and journalist.

The video depicts the armed men in military uniform following a naked woman along a deserted road. The men are seen repeatedly whipping her as she screams in pain. They then proceed to mow her down in a hail of bullets, firing over 30 rounds. After she falls on the ground, several of the men continue firing at her prostrate body. The army condemned the "horrifying" video, vowing to "ascertain their authenticity.”

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“This is quite chilling. When does it end?” Amnesty International East and South Africa director Deprose Muchena wrote.

Claims of abuse

In September, Mozambique’s defence ministry dismissed accusations by rights group Amnesty International that soldiers had committed atrocities.

“The videos and pictures show the attempted beheading, torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners; the dismemberment of alleged opposition fighters; possible extrajudicial executions; and the transport and discarding of a large number of corpses into apparent mass graves,” Amnesty International said.

The defence ministry dismissed the report, saying militants regularly impersonated soldiers.