Manish Cantilal kidnapping: One-day trial ends without clarity as to “masterminds” – O País

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Manish Cantilal kidnapping: One-day trial ends without clarity as to “masterminds” – O País

2:54 CAT | 16 Feb 2021

Photo: O País

The trial in the case of the abduction of businessman Manish Cantilal has ended, the verdict to be handed down on March 5. In court, the three defendants were unclear as to who organised the crime.

The single court session on the abduction of businessman Manish Cantilal took place on Monday, in the dock the two women who reportedly working as cooks in the place where the businessman was incarcerated for about 90 days.

However, the two denied in court that they were part of the crime, saying they had never so much as spoken about it.

“I was arrested on the 24th of March, in Beira. I was with my boyfriend, at his house. The police came and shot him dead. But he was not armed. And I don’t even know about this case, ”said Benilde, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, who said that she was in South Africa on the day of Cantilal’s abduction.

When asked if she knew Benilde, the other defendant, identified as Priscila, said: “I know her. She is from Xai-Xai. I had a boyfriend over there. But, since he was married, there was once an unforeseen event and he sent her to meet me. I stayed at her house for about two weeks. Since then, I never met her, except in jail.”

Priscila also confessed that the house where Manish Cantilal was held belongs to her mother, but that a supposed boyfriend had asked to use the house to host friends.

Priscila revealed that she had twice gone to the house to leave food at the request of her boyfriend, but that she never suspected that the house was home to an abducted businessman.

The two women were joined in the dock by another defendant, Adolfo, cited in the indictment as present on the day of Manish’s abduction. But Adolfo told the court that he was in South Africa at the time, and only later learned that he was involved in a crime, after Nando, an alleged boyfriend of Priscila, contacted him for a job for which he would receive R50,000.

“I know Ana Priscila. I was hired by Nando when I was in South Africa. When I arrived here, with Nando, who took me from South Africa, I went to a house, where I met two individuals. One was Madala, another was a boss. In the house was also Manish Cantilal himself,” Adolfo said, adding that this was the same group that also kidnapped Rizwan Adatia, owner of the Jambo group.

Priscila and Adolfo cited three persons who were in charge of the abductions, one of whom they called only “the boss”. The defendants said they did not know the whereabouts of these three persons.

In view of the explanations, the three defendants’ defence team asked for their acquittal, on the grounds of the arguments and the lack of clarity about the crimes of which they are accused.

“Who abducted Manish Cantilal? On what grounds? There are none of these arguments in the file. What weapon is it that passed through the hands of the three accused here? In what place, time, date were they?” asked one of the lawyers.

“We are not saying that Manish was not abducted. On the contrary. If there is to be a conviction, the real criminals are to be condemned,” the defence argued.

Having heard what was said, the judge of the 7th section of the TJCM set the reading of the sentence for March 5.

The three defendants are charged with crimes of possession of a prohibited weapon; abduction and association to commit a crime.

The defence lodged three applications requesting the transfer of the case to the Maputo Province Judicial Court, but the TJCM dismissed the request.

Businessman Manish Cantilal is out of the country, and his family said in court that they doubt he will return to Mozambique any time soon.

Source: O País