João Chamusse, a prominent Mozambican journalist, was discovered dead outside his residence on the outskirts of the capital, Maputo, in what is suspected to be a murder.
Local media reports indicate that unknown assailants killed Chamusse, with neighbours reporting hearing him scream for help in the early hours of Thursday. Fellow journalists revealed that Chamusse had a head wound, and a machete and gardening hoe were found near his body.
As the co-owner and editor of Ponto por Ponto, a privately owned online weekly newspaper, Chamusse contributed critical commentary about the government on a local TV station. The newspaper stated that its editorial director fell victim to a “knife murder.”
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a regional press freedom group, condemned the killing in a statement, highlighting Chamusse’s role in advocating for press and expression freedoms in Mozambique.
The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed deep concern over the journalist’s killing, urging Mozambican authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident. As of now, Mozambican authorities have not provided any official comments on the matter.