26 indicted for attacks in Cabo Delgado – Savana

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26 indicted for attacks in Cabo Delgado – Savana

2:37 CAT | 10 Jul 2019

File photo: DW

“The attackers intend to install an Independent State that annexes the districts of the northern region of Cabo Delgado and the southern part of the United Republic of Tanzania,” the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office indictment reads.

Soon after the Provincial Court of Cabo Delgado condemned some and release others, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the same province in the last few days concluded its investigation and accused a total of 26 defendants of participation in acts of terror in the northern districts of Cabo Delgado.

The 26 co-defendants are indicted of several crimes including qualified homicides, heinous crimes, use of prohibited weapons, association to commit crime, crime against the organisation of the State and instigating or provoking collective disobedience.

The Public Prosecutor’s indictment recently sent to the Provincial Court of Cabo Delgado indicates as the causes of these crimes the group’s intention to create instability and prevent people from attending the national education and health systems. To this end, the prosecution says, they intended to install an independent state comprising districts of northern Cabo Delgado and the southern part of the United Republic of Tanzania, with an orientation towards Islamic radicalism.

This understanding is reflected in the note that the Provincial Attorney’s Office of Cabo Delgado shared with the media yesterday afternoon detailing the indictment and sending three more cases to the Provincial Court of Cabo Delgado.

In the three cases, according to the note to which mediaFAX has had access, a total of 26 defendants are accused, 17 in case number 27/2/2019, indicted on January 22 of this year, three in case No. 37/2 / P / 2019, filed on February 8, 2019, and six in case number 296/2 / P / 18, filed on November 7, 2018.

“As a ‘modus operandi’, the co-defendants used firearms and bladed weapons to decapitate and corrode people’s bodies, destroy public buildings and houses, (theft of) crops and domestic animals, imposing terror on resident populations,” the Public Prosecutor’s Office offers as a characterisation of the group’s way of acting.

The 26 defendants are of three nationalities, namely Mozambican (mostly born in Cabo Delgado and Nampula), Tanzanian and Burundian. The group includes three women, all of them Mozambican and natives of Cabo Delgado.

Since the armed attacks began in October 2017, close to 300 people have been indicted. Recent trials acquitted more than 100 defendants, their participation not being proven by evidence produced in court. Sentences ranged from 12 to 40 years in prison.

Source: Savana