By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A prominent Mozambican journalist, João Chamusse has been murdered outside his home on the outskirts of the capital, Maputo.
Chamusse before his death was a co-owner and editor of Ponto por Ponto, a privately owned online newspaper.
He contributed commentary on a local TV station which the government of the day found critical.
Local media say he was killed by unknown assailants and that neighbours heard him screaming for help in the early hours of Thursday.
Fellow journalists say Chamusse had a wound on his head and a machete and hoe used in cultivation of farm were found near his body.
His paper says its editorial director was a “victim of murder with a knife”.
A regional press freedom group, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Mozambique chapter has condemned the killing of the journalist in a statement.
The group said Chamusse participated in the fight for press freedoms in the country.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says it is “deeply disturbed” by the killing of the journalist and calls authorities in Mozambique to “thoroughly” investigate the incident.
The Mozambican authorities are yet to comment on the killing.
