Mozambican government says there are traces of crime in dumped bodies case

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Mozambican government says there are traces of crime in dumped bodies case

1:05 CAT | 18 May 2016

Lusa

The Mozambique Interior Minister acknowledged in Maputo yesterday that there were traces of crime in the case of the bodies discovered in the centre of the country, and said that, although the bodies had been buried, the investigation would continue.

“Although the motive and circumstances of the crime are not known, there are criminal aspects. The police can follow up the clues and clarify the matter,” Basilio Monteiro told reporters at Praça dos Heróis at the Mozambique Police Day ceremony yesterday.

“The burial of the bodies does not mean the end of the investigation. The work will continue and, in due course, we will have more information.”

On April 30, journalists photographed 15 bodies scattered in the bush in Gorongosa, Sofala province. A week later, Mozambican television channel STV showed 13 decomposing bodies near the N1 in Macossa district, Manica province. The two areas are close, on the border between Gorongosa and Macossa districts and also between Sofala and Manica provinces, and speculation is that the bodies might be the same.

The bodies were dumped near where farmers claim to have seen a mass grave with more than 100 bodies whose existence is so far denied by the authorities and unconfirmed by journalists, in a heavily militarized zone in the centre of the country.

Despite the authorities’ denials, the state National Human Rights Commission of Mozambique has demanded “unconditional access” to the sites for national or international organizations, and on Monday of last week the parliamentary Standing Committee announced it would send a delegation to investigate alleged human rights violations in the centre of the country.

The president of the Human Rights League of Mozambique, Alice Mabota, is demanding an international commission of inquiry led by the United Nations to investigate reports of mass graves, of which the organization claims to have photographic evidence not so far presented to the public.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office said it was in contact with the Mozambican authorities regarding access to the area.

Source: Lusa