Community police in Manica, Mozambique, beat man to death

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Community police in Manica, Mozambique, beat man to death

5:58 CAT | 19 Feb 2016

File

A group of agents of the Community Police, in Vanduzi district, in the central Mozambican province of Manica, beat up two suspected kidnappers so severely that one of them lost his life.

The Community Police accused the two men, Roberto Mafala (28) and Avelino dos Santos (26), of the attempted kidnapping of a young girl on Monday. The girl was sleeping in the company of her father when the alleged incident occurred.

The policemen, plus several local residents, used an assortment of weapons to beat the two suspects.

The man who survived, Avelino dos Santos, said that the Community Police appeared at the house where he and Mafala were sleeping, broke down the door, and began to attack them. They said they had received denunciations of a case of kidnapping in which the two young men were the main suspects. They tried to defend themselves, but in vain. Mafala lost so much blood from his injuries that he eventually died.

“We were sleeping. We didn’t know anything”, said dos Santos. “Suddenly I saw people breaking the door down. They were the community police and they began to assault us. They took us to their leader’s house. We were severely beaten until my colleague lost his life. I’m just a stonemason, and I don’t know anything. It’s a false accusation”.

Some Vanduzi residents claim that the local leader of the Community Police, Joao Saize, ordered the attack on the two suspects. However, he categorically denies this.

Saize told reporters that the two men were found trying to kidnap a minor. He said he was woken up by local people who presented the two alleged kidnappers to him. Saize says his only instructions were to take the two suspects to a nearby police station.

Officers of the full-time police force (PRM) say they are investigating what really happned in the community. If those who organized the assault against the two men can be identified, they will face criminal proceedings. The police say that includes Saize, if there is any evidence against him.

Source: AIM