MOZAMBIQUE- Journalists on two community radio stations in the city of Quelimane have complained of receiving death threats and other forms of intimidation from unknown sources.

This was disclosed in a statement from the National Community Radio Forum (Forcom), adding that the two radios were covering facts that did not please somebody or some group. It noted that on the day of the municipal elections, 20 November, the radios covered the voting live, including the irregularities that occurred at some of the polling stations.

When the reporters complained of intimidation, Forcom sent a delegation to Quelimane, on 25 November which held meetings with the Zambezia provincial governor and with the provincial police command. The complaint of anonymous threats was channelled to the local branch of the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC).

However, CEOAFRICA.com gathered that Radio Qiuelimana FM was sabotaged two weeks ago when an unknown person broke into the station and vandalized its computers and other equipments.

The Forcom statement urged an end to all acts “which hinder the right to information and freedom of the press and of expression at the Community Radios”.

Furthermore, Forcom demanded that the institutions of the administration of justice should take action to ascertain who was responsible for the threats and the sabotage. It reiterated its willingness “to collaborate with the government in promoting the right to information, the preservation of peace and the preservation of peace and the consolidation of Mozambican democracy.”

The journalists on Radio Quelimane FM have also claimed there has been a suspicious presence of supposed members of the police in the immediate vicinity of the station. This has led the reporters to go into hiding, avoiding both the radio newsroom and their homes.