Mozambique: Locals refuse to say where they buried supposed rustlers alive

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Mozambique: Locals refuse to say where they buried supposed rustlers alive

3:17 CAT | 13 Sep 2022

File photo: Carta de Moçambique

The inhabitants of Maluana, a place in Maputo where seven people were buried alive, are refusing to cooperate with the authorities in identifying the place where at least two bodies were buried, an official source said.

“We have been meeting with the inhabitants, and we have again urged them to help us identify the place where the other two bodies are. We still can’t get anything,” said the head of the Maluane Administrative Post, Juvenal Sigauque, quoted today by Radio Mozambique (RM).

The case of seven people accused of stealing cattle, including three Mozambican police officers, buried alive by residents in the Administrative Post of Maluane, in Maputo province in June this year is at stake.

The Mozambican authorities managed to identify where five bodies were buried, which were exhumed in June, but there are still two others whose whereabouts are unknown.

The locals tortured the victims and buried them alive, accused of belonging to a group that steals cattle in Muamba district in Maputo province.

“The case occurred on 20 June, when a cattle farmer noticed invaders in his corral. He called the others, and the alleged bandits were tied up and buried alive,” Juvenal Sigauque explained to the media at the time.

The Mozambican Police deployed a team to investigate the case, but three of its officers were also tied up, tortured and buried alive by the population, accused of collaborating with the criminals.

“The police went to the area to identify where the bodies of the alleged criminals were buried and try to clarify the matter. However, the community confused the police officers with the bandits,” said Juvenal Sigauque.

Source: Lusa