Twelve Ugandans detained in Manica on suspicion of connection with Cabo Delgado attacks

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Twelve Ugandans detained in Manica on suspicion of connection with Cabo Delgado attacks

1:46 CAT | 12 Feb 2019

Photo: Voa Portugues

Police authorities in the central Mozambican province of Manica have detained 12 Ugandans on suspicion of involvement in the insurgent attacks destabilising the province of Cabo Delgado in the north of the country.

Manica police spokesman Mateus Mindu told VOA that the group were detained in Chimoio, on Sunday, 10 February, on a bus bound for Maputo, travelling in the opposite direction to their declared destination, which was Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

Police seized money totalling about US$1,800 in several currencies, plus 16 mobile phones, four flashlights and a laptop.

“They said that they were going to Zimbabwe, but what raised suspicions was the money, the mobile phones and the computer, considering the situation (of insurgents attack) in Cabo Delegado,” Mindu said.

He added that the police had noted greater than usual numbers of Ugandans in Mozambique recently.

“A few days ago, some Ugandans were detained in Cabo Delgado on suspicion of being involved in the attacks in that province,” Mindu said, adding that an investigation was under way to ascertain if there was any connection between the two groups.

The group of Ugandans left Kampala, the capital of Uganda, on January 29, and travelled by land through Tanzania and Malawi before arriving in Mozambique.

One of the group, Samuel Mukasa, said that they went to Harare on the promise of employment in the agricultural sector, adding that, despite the economic recession in Zimbabwe, their situation was better than ours.

Mukasa denied any connection with the insurgent attacks in northern Mozambique.

The courts in Cabo Delgado have five cases in hand concerning insurgent attacks in the centre and north of the province, but only one, with about 200 defendants, including foreigners, has gone to trial.

Source: Voa Portugues