Mozambique: Lawyers demand transparency in police training school pregnancies scandal

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Mozambique: Lawyers demand transparency in police training school pregnancies scandal

7:50 CAT | 15 Jun 2021

FILE - Illustrative photo. [File photo: Noticias]

The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) on Monday expressed “indignation at the lack of transparency” by the Government regarding its handling of the scandal of police instructors suspected of getting female trainees pregnant.

“We are outraged at the lack of transparency and information in relation to the enquiry that the Government said would be opened to ascertain what happened at the Matalane Police Practical School,” Feroza Zacarias, chairperson of the OAM human rights commission, told Lusa.

The case generated reactions from the President of the Republic and several public figures in August 2020 and is related to four female trainees who allegedly got pregnant by their instructors at the school, in Maputo province.

Feroza Zacarias criticised the lack of clarification regarding the latest development: a report published a fortnight ago by Notícias, the country’s main daily newspaper, quoted the commander-general of the Mozambique police (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, as saying that instructors suspected in the case had been transferred to other police units.

Contacted by Lusa, the spokesman for the PRM, Orlando Modumane, limited himself to saying that “the transfers of police officers are normal in the institution,” without further explanation.

But Feroza Zacarias asked for clarification: “We know that it is perfectly normal to move and transfer staff within the civil service, but given the suspicions that have been raised around the instructors, it is the Government’s duty to clarify under what circumstances they have been transferred”.

Justice Minister Helena Kida said in November in parliament that two instructors “were expelled from the corporation, as a culmination of disciplinary proceedings brought against them”, but without further details.

Also read: Mozambique: Two police instructors expelled over Matalana case – watch

Watch: Nyusi promises full investigation of Matalane scandal – AIM report

So far, it is unclear what has happened to other suspected instructors – the exact number of whom has never been made public by the authorities – and it is not known whether they have been cleared or are awaiting the outcome of their disciplinary or criminal proceedings.

Feroza Zacarias warned against the risk of giving the impression that “harassment, rape and forced pregnancy are institutionalised”.

“A police officer who has been a victim of gender-based violence and who has experienced impunity, may have little sensitivity to situations such as domestic violence, because he or she will consider these behaviours to be natural”.

She argued that the Government should be more transparent about the issue, informing society about the outcome of the processes, protecting the presumption of innocence and the dignity of all those involved.

“The lack of transparency is bad for everyone, including for the police officers themselves, who may be innocent” and even because “some of these relationships may be consensual”.

Also read: Watch: Interior Minister wants punishment in case of pregnant trainees at police school

Trainees at Matalana Police Practical School impregnated by instructors – report

People linked to the Matalana Practical School, who spoke to Lusa under anonymity, said it was normal to have amorous involvement.

“We have always had instructors getting involved with trainees, trainees getting involved with trainees and this has even resulted in marriages and families,” they said.

The same sources said the fact that the instructors were forced to stay longer at the school due to restrictions on going home as part of the Covid-19 prevention measures may have fostered more contact with the female trainees and resulted in the scandal.

Until a fortnight ago, some of the suspects continued to be seen at the school, with it unknown “whether it is because they are innocent or whether it is because the matter has died down,” one of the sources said.

Also read: Matalana Police School: Instructors assigned to other sectors over sexual abuse – Noticias report

Contacted by Lusa, the director of the Matalana Police Training School declined to make a statement, referring the matter to the General Police Command.

Despite trying to get in touch again, Lusa was unable to obtain further clarification from Orlando Modumane.

In August 2020, the case merited the attention of the Mozambican President, referring to it as a “serious” case that deserved to be “investigated in detail at ministerial level and at the general command” of the PRM.

The case provoked the indignation on social networks, and several Mozambican civil society organisations have demanded the accountability of the instructors.

Mozambican activist Graça Machel even called for “a broad and deep movement of repudiation against sexual harassment”.

Source: Lusa