Mozambique election crisis: Police accused of killing pot-banging protesters

But Albino Forquilha, the leader of the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique, which backed Mondlane’s presidential bid, accused police of using excessive force to suppress dissent.

“It feels as though they are being used to protect the ruling party,” he told the BBC.

South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies analyst Borges Nhamirre said this was the first time Mozambique had witnessed so many casualties, and damage to property, during protests.

He said it was clear that Frelimo had lost popularity, especially among young people who were “looking for jobs, looking for vocational training, looking for a plot to build their house, looking for some money”.

“They don’t care about who brought independence. The independence they want is their financial independence,” Mr Nhamirre said.

After the result was announced on 24 October, Chapo was adamant that he and Frelimo had won in a free and fair contest, saying: “We are an organised party that prepares its victories.”

Since then he has kept a notably low profile, waiting for the courts to rule on Mondlane’s bid to annul the result.

In an apparent attempt to keep up the pressure ahead of the ruling, many of Mondlane’s supporters also heeded his call to mourn the dead for three days (until 22 November) by stopping their vehicles and hooting at noon.

Like Antonio, 20-year-old Alito Momad was allegedly killed by police during the protests.

The BBC came across some of his friends in a neighbourhood outside Maputo, holding a night vigil for him on 17 November.

With a Mozambican flag laid out on the floor next to burning candles, Alito’s friends showed us a photo of him – with what appeared to be a gunshot wound in the back of his head.

It was another reminder of how the election had cut short the lives of young people, with their friends and relatives hoping they will get justice as Mozambique goes through one of its most turbulent periods since the advent of multi-party democracy about 30 years ago.