Five people have died following a wave of misinformation about cholera in Mozambique, said the commander-general of the Mozambican police, Bernardino Rafael.
The victims are mostly local leaders and health technicians, killed by the population under allegations that they were bringing cholera cases to the communities, explained Bernardino Rafael, during a rally in Chiure, in Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique, held on Wednesday December 27.
“We ask the population not to accept these messages and to denounce people who spread misinformation about cholera,” said the general commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM).
The cases are occurring mainly in the districts of Chiure, Montepuez and Namuno, in Cabo Delgado province, where the authorities have registered half of the 26 cases of violence registered in the country due to misinformation.
The phenomenon is also being recorded in some remote districts of the provinces of Nampula, in northern Mozambique, and Zambézia, in the center, he said.
At least 16 people were arrested between May and November in Sofala province, in central Mozambique, for passing on misinformation about cholera, announced Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda, noting that lies about the disease have resulted in lynchings and destruction.