Mozambique: Cabo Delgado Governor visits Sambene, in Mecúfi district - photos
MMO
The trial in the theft of around 29 million meticais from a Millennium Bim bank branch in Beira at the end of May last year has been the subject of a procedural ruling and postponed by the judge in the case, Tomé Valente, until August 1 in order to allow re-evaluation.
The judge’s decision was to accommodate lawyers’ concerns that, by their procedural nature, their constituents should not be listed as defendants.
Ivan Pontaria, one of the lawyers for the case, said that the decision to postpone was aimed at ensuring a better evaluation of the evidence in the indictment.
“There are some issues of a procedural nature that must be remedied, and fortunately the judge has responded to our appeals. We are happy because there will be time for our complaints to be analyzed.”
Two of the six accused are agents of a private security company, one an employee of that bank, and two, armed robbers who entered the bank vault. Three further members of the gang are fugitives.
Two of the defendants broke out of the central prison of Beira in August last year with the aid of a pistol and two getaway vehicles, but were later captured. To avoid further escape attempts, and given the lack of a vehicle to take the defendants back to prison, a strong police team was mobilized to escort the defendants about a kilometer back to the prison on foot, where they arrived without incident.
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