Mozambique: Case of death of Councillor Célia Cumbe’s death has been filed – PGR

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Mozambique: Case of death of Councillor Célia Cumbe’s death has been filed – PGR

4:45 CAT | 10 Dec 2019

File photo: RM

Nine months after the death of former Councillor for Administration and Finance of Maputo City Council, Célia Cumbe, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) in Maputo province says it has filed the case for lack of evidence, ‘Carta de Moçambique’ reports..

In a telephone interview with ‘Carta’ on Monday, December 9, Maputo Province’s Chief Public Prosecutor Evelina Gomane said that no evidence was found to incriminate anyone, even though evidence gathered during the investigation shows signs that there was murder.

ALSO READ: Suicide ruled out in death of Maputo Municipal Councillor for Finance and Planning Célia Cumbe

“The investigation of the case has been completed, but we have not found any evidence that could lead us to identify any suspects, nor have we been able to gather substantial evidence that could lead us to conclude that we were looking at a murder or an accident, a third-party murder, an accidental death or even suicide,” Gomane said in response to a ‘Carta’ question about the state of investigations.

“It is true that everything indicates or leads us to believe that it is homicide, but we still do not have any elements that lead us to act forcefully and firmly. And because of this situation, we decided to file the case because there is no suspect who can be held accountable,” the public prosecutor explained.

Célia Cumbe was found dead last March 5 in suspicious circumstances at her home in the Matola C neighbourhood, in the municipality of the same name. Her body showed signs of burns, supposedly caused by a fire that consumed part of the bed where she was sleeping.

In July, the PGR promised, in an interview with Radio Mozambique, that the case would be clarified in 40 days, which did not happen.

ALSO READ: Death of former Maputo Planning and Finance councillor may be explained in the next 40 days – report

In April, the Attorney General’s Office in Maputo released the preliminary results of the autopsy exams, which ruled out the possibility of suicide.

Célia Cumbe’s death prompted several interpretations, coming as it did at a time when the municipality accounts in the country’s capital were being audited and, according to sources, there were facts that only she could clarify.

By Omardine Omar

Source: Carta de Moçambique