Military accused of raping 14-year-old, killing a young man, wounding a child – Nampula

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Military accused of raping 14-year-old, killing a young man, wounding a child – Nampula

1:53 CAT | 07 Nov 2018

Photo: O País

Another episode of violence is echoing through Nampula, this one having as main players members of the military from a barracks in the Mutava Rex neighbourhood, (administrative post of Namicopo) just a few kilometres from the centre of the provincial capital.

It all started on late Sunday afternoon, when a pregnant woman and her daughter go to the military zone in search of firewood and other foods. On their way back home, they are approached by military officers who order the 14-year-old girl to leave the bundle of firewood in the barracks, claiming that that area is forbidden to the general population.

The woman waits for her daughter who goes off with two soldiers wearing uniforms. On the way back, the sun setting, one of them overpowers the teenager and rapes her, according to the report of the alleged victim.

Ashamed, in shock and still reeling from the psychological blow of the event, the girl opens up to our reporting team in a trembling voice and, speaking practically in monosyllables, tries to portray what she had experienced.

“When I was crying, he grabbed me and I fell, and then he began to attack me.” The rape she characterises in the words of a child who is not accustomed to talking about this kind of thing. “Took off my clothes,” is what she says.

The father realises what had happened and, his nerves on edge, overcomes his fear and bursts into the barracks where he engages in a quarrel and a fight with his daughter’s presumed rapist.

Another chapter of violence begins.

The next day, four soldiers armed with AKM firearms enter the neighbourhood in search of the man in question. The angry population faces up to the group, which flees. But, already on the Nampula-Nacala road on their way back to the barracks, one of the soldiers turns and fires, killing a 20-year-old man and wounding a 10-year-old child.

The pain is the size of a building … The father of the deceased goes through the ache caused by the shock between pain and loneliness. “My son died, victim of the war of guns,” he sums up.

When we went to the scene on Tuesday to gather information for a report, a team from the barracks arrived in the neighbourhood, but declined to be interviewed. They were also there to ascertain the facts of the incident, at the same time telling the family of the deceased not to remove the body from the morgue before experts from the National Criminal Investigation Service had examined the body.

With our help, the 14-year-old victim on Tuesday went to the forensic medicine department of Nampula provincial hospital.

“We have done prophylaxis for different diseases like HIV, hepatitis and the same for unwanted pregnancies. A report will be made later on, and the patient keeps the report,” the head of the hospital’s Emergency Services Dr Frederico Sebastião explains.

In the same hospital we visited the 10-year-old boy shot in the arm and learned from his doctor that the muscles of his left arm had been only slightly grazed and that he would be discharged the same day.

Our news team contacted the military command in Nampula, which declined to comment on the case. The police in turn promised a response on Wednesday.

By Ricardo Machava

Source: O País