Mozambique: UK boosts women's economic empowerment in Cabo Delgado
The Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday urged the Maputo City Court to hand down an “exemplary” sentence against the former National Director of Prison Services in the Justice Ministry, Luis Cezerilo, who is accused of abusing his office and making false statements.
During the trial, held in the second section of the city court, sitting in KaMpfumu urban district, the prosecutor, Carlos Banze, said that in July 2010 Cezerilo had ordered the payment out of public funds of the visa and travel costs to Brazil of a friend, Eunice Temba.
According to the account of the trial in Thursday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, Banze said Cezerilo had ordered a subordinate, Marcia Bila, to include Temba’s name on a list of colleagues being sent to Brazil for work purposes. She was falsely identified as a worker at the Justice Ministry.
Cezerilo admitted ordering payment of Temba’s visa – but claimed that the money was her own, and did not come from the Ministry’s funds. He said Temba had money to pay for the visa and air ticket, and to go shopping in Brazil.
Marcia Bila told the court that Cezerilo had indeed told her to have the visa for Temba issued. She added that, at the time, she did not know that Temba was a friend of Cezerilo.
Bila added that there were visits for Ministry staff financed by non-governmental organisations. These visits included people who had no contractual ties with the Ministry, but Ministry staff put their names on the list and dealt with the correspondence.
The judge in the case, Helena Matola, announced that she will give her verdict and sentence on 31 August.
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