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Mozambique: 14 arrested for desecrating graves in Catholic mission
7:45 CAT | 30 Sep 2024
FILE - For illustration purposes only. The Church of Saint Peter Claver, in the Miruro Mission. [File photo: Diocese de Tete]
A group of 14 people were arrested in the province of Tete, central Mozambique, while desecrating graves in a local cemetery for priests from a Catholic mission in search of gold and other precious objects, it was announced on Friday.
“They were arrested in flagrante delicto,” police spokesperson in Tete, Feliciano da Câmara, told Lusa.
The group was caught on the morning of 24 September “in the process of excavating” in a cemetery dating back to the colonial period in Miruro, Zumbo district, using equipment to detect the objects.
Da Câmara added that this is the third case of its kind in the same cemetery in about a month.
“In August, three individuals were arrested for desecrating the cemetery, and another six at the beginning of September,” he reported.
The group arrested this week consisted of a guide, who was trying to locate the graves in the old cemetery, with the “majority” of those participating believed to be from other provinces in the country.
“We are taking all appropriate measures, because this is a sacred place that must be protected,” Da Camara said.
“The PRM discourages any future repetition, because, according to the Church, there are no precious objects or gold in the graves in question, and, since this is a legally a crime, there will be criminal liability,” he concluded.
Source: Lusa
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