Mozambique: SERNIC say it is “premature” to talk about evidence in double homicide

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Mozambique: SERNIC say it is “premature” to talk about evidence in double homicide

2:37 CAT | 23 Oct 2024

Photo: O País

“All the evidence – we are talking about shell casings, mobile phones and computers that were inside that vehicle and around that location – was collected by SERNIC,” spokesperson Hilario Lole told the press today.

Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) today said it considered “premature” any attempt to speculate about the identity or possible arrest of the perpetrators of the double homicide that occurred in Maputo on Friday.

“It is premature to provide information about whether or not there are clues, but we can say that there is information that leads us to a certain point and we believe that this point can be enlightening information about what the motivations may be and even the possible identification of these criminal actors,” said SERNIC spokesperson Hilário Lole.

Lole said that SERNIC was working to clarify the double homicide, and asked Mozambicans not to “disturb” the investigation, appealing to the public “not to misinform, not to release false information that could disrupt the criminal investigation to bring the facts to light”.

Mozambican police confirmed to Lusa on Saturday that the vehicle in which Elvino Dias, lawyer for presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, and Paulo Guambe, representative of the Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), a party that supports Mondlane, were travelling and were shot dead, had been “ambushed”.

The crime took place on Avenida Joaquim Chissano, in the centre of the capital, and, according to the police, a woman who was travelling in the back seat of the vehicle was also shot and taken to hospital.

At today’s press conference, SERNIC also denied information circulating on social media, stating that certain unidentified individuals had collected evidence from the place where Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe were shot, including bullet casings and mobile phones belonging to those who allegedly witnessed the incident.

“SERNIC, from the first minute it became aware of the incident, went to the scene, collected evidence and traces, from the vehicle, shell casings that were scattered around the scene, and other projectiles lodged in the vehicle itself were collected and are being assessed in terms of forensic analysis to provide us with information that will help clarify this criminal act,” he clarified.

“All the evidence, we are talking about shell casings, mobile phones and computers that were in that vehicle and around that location, were collected by SERNIC.”

The Mozambican criminal investigation police also asked establishments in the vicinity of the location where the double homicide occurred to provide recordings from their security cameras.

Source: Lusa