MOZAMBIQUE: Govt bans artists from using police uniform

By: Ollus Ndomu

The Mozambican government has banned artists from using police uniform in any of their activities.

A decree which artists have described as “dictatorial”, was issued Tuesday by the country’s police boss, Bernardino Rafael who said the artists used the uniform in ways which distorted the image of the force.

Meanwhile, the decree which Rafael said is aimed to defend Mozambique’s sovereignty has been criticized by lawyer Osvwnildo Mathe who argued that using police uniforms for artistic representation was not a crime.

Mathe further said the police boss had no authority to ban artists from using the uniform as they did not work for the country’s police force.