Police agents accused of killing two citizens in Maputo, raping 17-year-old in Inhambane

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Police agents accused of killing two citizens in Maputo, raping 17-year-old in Inhambane

6:39 CAT | 13 Sep 2016

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Mozambican police agents shot two citizens dead in Maputo on Saturday in separate incidents, although they were both apparently unarmed.

According to a report in Tuesday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”, the first victim, Jose Langa, was accused of stealing a woman’s purse.

According to Langa’s mother, he had gone out on Friday evening “to enjoy himself”, but at around 04.00 Saturday morning, he was accused of a petty theft and then shot dead.

Langa’s aunt told the paper that the woman who claimed her purse was stolen incited a policeman to shoot Langa. He said he knew nothing about any stolen purse, and the police then fired at the ground, supposedly in order to scare him.

Langa insisted he was innocent, but the policeman argued with him and shot him in the leg. When Langa fell to the ground, the owner of the supposedly stolen purse told the policeman to “finish him off”. The policeman then killed Langa, the victim’s aunt said.

The spokesperson for the Maputo City Police command, Orlando Mudumane, said the policeman who fired the fatal shot is now on the run, although the weapon he used has been recovered from his son.

The second fatality occurred at around 17.30 on Saturday in the 25th June neighbourhood. The police command believes the shot was fired accidentally. Mudumane said a commission of inquiry has been set up to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

The image of the police has also been damaged by an alleged rape which occurred in the small hours of last Monday morning in a police station in the southern city of Inhambane.

According to the “O Pais” report, a 17 year old girl and her boyfriend were intercepted by policemen at about 02.00, who demanded to see their identity cards. Although failure to carry an ID card is not a criminal offence, the police hauled them off to the station.

The girl told the paper that the two police agents forced her to undress at gunpoint, and then raped her in a nearby unfinished building.

If they thought that would be the end of the matter, they were wrong. The boyfriend lodged a formal complaint against the two policemen the following day, and the case is winding its way through the criminal justice system.

Source: AIM