Cabo Delgado: Acquitted defendants must have economic reintegration to avoid being recruited by terrorists – analyst

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Cabo Delgado: Acquitted defendants must have economic reintegration to avoid being recruited by terrorists – analyst

2:30 CAT | 08 Sep 2020

FILE - Defendants in Cabo Delgado trial. [File photo: William Mapote/VOA Portugues]

The Cabo Delgado Provincial Judicial Court has acquitted half the defendants accused of involvement in terrorist attacks in the province, allegedly as a result of a lack of experience in dealing with terrorism cases.

A hundred and thirty defendants accused of participating in the terrorist attacks which began in October, 2017, were acquitted for lack of evidence in six of the eight terrorism-related criminal cases tried by the Cabo Delgado Court, while 120 defendants were convicted.

“As it was a situation that took us by surprise, and we had never been prepared to deal with crimes of this nature (terrorism), unlike common crimes, but we have been gaining experience,” court spokesperson Zacarias Napatima told VOA in defence of the high number of acquittals.

Meanwhile, university professor and commentator Sansão Nhancale notes that it was already suspected that a large number of defendants would be acquitted, because of the number and family relationship of the people involved in each case.

“Although it is not understandable to detain innocent people, at least in that case, there was no alternative. The government had to, on the one hand, show work and react to events on the ground,” says Nhancale, who understands that the arrest of suspects took place under pressure to respond to the attacks.

But now, Nhancale says, “it is important that the government create specific programmes to support this group in order for them to have an occupation, get a job. … That would be fundamental”. Better penetration by the intelligence services was needed in investigating terrorism in Cabo Delgado.

The trial of suspected terrorist attacks began in October, 2018.

Of the eight cases sent to the court, two remain pending, one involving the two journalists accused of violating state secrets and instigating crime by means of computer media, and the other concerning South African businessman Andre Hanekon, who died in police custody in Pemba.

The defendants, who have so far been sentenced to between two and 18 years in prison, include, in addition to Mozambicans, Tanzanians, Burundians and Somalis. Their alleged offences include crimes against state security, qualified homicide, illegal possession of weapons and the instigation of collective disobedience.

By André Batista

Source: VOA Portugues