Mozambique: Police seizure of drinks “was illegal”

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Mozambique: Police seizure of drinks “was illegal”

5:37 CAT | 20 Jan 2021

Photo: Noticias

The Mozambican police who seized alcoholic drinks over the weekend, on the pretext of implementing the measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease were acting illegally, according to Rita Freitas, the General Inspector of the government’s National Inspectorate of Economic Activities (INAE).

Under the latest measures against Covid-19, which took effect at zero hours last Friday, all bars and stalls selling alcoholic drinks must close, and the opening hours of restaurants are shortened. But the government decree says nothing about confiscating drinks.

At a Tuesday press conference, cited by the independent daily ”O Pais”, Freitas said the government decree envisages sanctions such as suspending the activities of any establishment that violates the anti-Covid-19 measures for between one to three months, or even cancelling its permit to do business. But such decisions, she said, must be taken by the courts.

The inspection of commercial establishments, which could lead to the confiscation of goods, is a task of INAE, not of the police. Freitas stressed that INAE was not consulted about the police operations over the weekend.

A further clear illegality was that the police did not issue any receipts for the goods they seized. In any legitimate seizure, a list of the goods seized must be drawn up and given to the owner. The police however just seized the drinks, including from refrigerators, and bundled them into police vehicles.

Freitas said that INAE was now attempting to return the drinks to their lawful owners.

The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) also denounced the police operation as illegal. A former OAM chairperson, Flavio Menete, who was formerly a senior police officer, described the police activity as “theft”.

Clearly embarrassed by this scandal, the Maputo City Police Command attempted to blame the Municipal Police. A spokesperson for the Municipal Police then claimed that the seizures had nothing to do with Covid-19, but were simply enforcement of municipal by-laws.

The fact that the seizures occurred on the first day of the new measures against Covid-19 was merely coincidental, he claimed.

Source: AIM