State “must not tolerate” abuses like Matalane – Nyusi

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State “must not tolerate” abuses like Matalane – Nyusi

2:55 CAT | 19 Aug 2020

Photo: O País

President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Defence and Security Forces Filipe Nyusi today presided over the closing of the 40th Basic Course of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), praising the transitioning of young people to the Defence and Security Forces to fight armed violence in the centre and north of the country.

The head of state began by remarking that young people from the Defence and Security Forces “do their best to defend the country”, and told the assembled youth that their mission was to protect the country and the population. “The use of force” for certain situations “should be the last resort, in their performance”.

President Nyusi went on to remark that, in recent years, instability in the central and northern areas had had a negative impact on peace efforts. He promised “criminal and moral accountability for those responsible for the attacks in the centre and north”, and said that Mozambicans cannot live with criminals.

ALSO READ: Mozambique: President directs closing ceremony of police training course in Matalane

“Despite this,” he added, “we are firm in our commitment to the DDR [Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration] process, and are open to dialogue with all actors.”

Nyusi promises accountability for Matalana instructors

President Nyusi also addressed the “Matalane scandal”, which involves 15 police trainees who were allegedly made pregnant by their instructors during training at the PRM Practical School in Matalana, Maputo province.

Filipe Nyusi admitted that this was a serious case, and said it was being studied in detail at the Ministry of Interior and the PRM General Command.

“The state must not tolerate situations like this. The law must be complied with, and the law is the same for us all. No-one is above the law,” the head of state said.

To show that the government was not oblivious to the seriousness of the matter or deaf to the outrage occasioned by the alleged abuse, the President of the Republic explained what was being done by way of clarification.

Nyusi said that, contrary to what has been alleged, the Executive had taken the initiative to investigate the problem before it was even in the public domain, having discovered that, of the 15 trainees, only one had arrived at the PRM Practical School in Matalana already pregnant.

“Four trainees became pregnant at school; there are investigations to determine whether by instructors or colleagues. The other 10 were impregnated by partners outside the school community,” the head of state said, adding that the degree of pregnancy varied from one to six months.

The women who had reached three months of pregnancy, opened prenatal records with monitoring by the PRM Practical School in Matalana, the President of the Republic said, asking for the support of the families of the trainees and of the PRM Practical School in Matalana in clarifying the case.

However, the head of state acknowledged that the problem, which had left some segments of the public with their hair on end, did indeed raise the issue of the selection of candidates for Matalana courses.

On the other hand, it also called into question the credibility of tests carried out by the police to assess the condition of those entering police training.

President Nyusi therefore condemned the violation of disciplinary rules, and called on society to create less by way of panic and focus more on solving the problem.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence and Security Forces finished by ruing the fact that unplanned pregnancy was not confined only to Matalane, but a “real problem that affects the whole of society”.

Source: O País