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Mozambique: Pastor arrested during ‘Repentance and Reconciliation’ service – Carta
2:53 CAT | 17 Jan 2025
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An evangelical pastor called Marcos Chambule was arrested this Thursday in Maputo during an interfaith service about repentance and reconciliation, which was attended by the newly inaugurated President of the Republic, Daniel Francisco Chapo.
The pastor was arrested after confronting those present about vote theft in the general elections of October 9, an event that triggered the popular demonstrations that have been going on for almost three months across the country. The pastor’s boldness did not please Daniel Chapo’s security, who decided to forcibly remove the individual and order his arrest.
In an interview with ‘Carta’, lawyer Ambrósio Sambamate stated that the police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office would have to justify their detention of the cleric. The lawyer for the detained pastor explained that there was no legal argument for the police to arrest his client, and what had happened, therefore, was “unlawful detention”.
“In Mozambique, there are rules that regulate the deprivation of an individual’s liberty or their release, and these rules are provided for in the Constitution of the Republic, mainly in the Code of Criminal Procedure,” Sambamate argues.
“By this, I mean that the detention or restriction of an individual’s liberty must always be based on plausible legal grounds. No one can simply wake up in the morning and decide that someone is detained. In this case, we must understand what are the assumptions that allow a public authority or any other person to deprive someone of their liberty,” he explains.
In the pastor’s case, Sambamate clarifies that no crime had been committed, ahnd what had happened was simply the exercise of a constitutional right: the right to freedom of expression. Therefore, there were no legal grounds for the arrest.
“The individual simply said that he should repent for the stolen votes, so that there could be reconciliation. It was based on these words that the decision was made to restrict the pastor’s freedom,” explained the lawyer.
In these terms, the lawyer reaffirms that there was no legal type of crime. What is even more serious, according to him, is that this constitutes an illegal arrest. “In other words, this constitutes a crime, which can be called illegal arrest or abuse of authority.”
“That is why, unfortunately, when we arrived at the 3rd Police Station, we found agents from the State Intelligence and Security Service (SISE), the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) and the prosecutor, and unfortunately, it was the prosecutor who drew the most attention to the alleged degree of violation of the law. Instead of acting as a guarantor of legality, she made the work of justice difficult,” the lawyer stated.
“So, since no crime was committed, there was nothing left to do but restore the individual’s freedom. For this reason, he managed to avoid prison,” Sambamate added.
When asked about the possibility of suing the police, the lawyer stated that this was being analysed, stressing however that there were already sufficient grounds to take action against the officers involved.
“We want to bring the prosecutor into the case and report her bad behaviour, because she is the guardian of legality, but she made the work of the lawyers difficult. The same goes for the officers who detained the individual in illegal circumstances. The prosecutor, of course, will have to respond disciplinarily, but also in the procedural sphere,” he assured.
The prayer meeting that culminated in the arrest of Pastor Marcos Chambule was held under the motto: “Repentance, Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Praying for Mozambique.”
By Marta Afonso
Source: Carta de Moçambique
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