Valentina Guebuza murder: A history of violence in husband’s indictment by Public Prosecutor – Mozambique

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Valentina Guebuza murder: A history of violence in husband’s indictment by Public Prosecutor – Mozambique

2:49 CAT | 30 Jan 2017

TVM (File photo) / Valentina Guebuza died on December 14 2016 victim to multiple gunshots

Before Valentina Guebuza, daughter of former Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, was murdered by her husband, Zofimo Muiuane, on 14 December, any love there had been in the relationship had evaporated, and was replaced by hatred.

That at least is the picture painted in the prosecution indictment of Muiuane, extracts from which were published on Friday by the independent newssheet ‘Mediafax’.

The indictment says that, when Valentina Guebuza thought she could no longer bear the tense relationship with her husband, she reached out to the “godfathers” of their wedding (roughly equivalent to the English “best men”), Amosse Zita and Feliciano Gundana, and asked for their help.

She phoned them on 17 November, and the following day she met with Gundana and Zita and their wives. She told them that she was suffering domestic violence at the hands of Muiuane, and that he had taken to using obscene language against her.

This hostile atmosphere reached such a point, she said, that Muiuane hid her passport, cell phones and air tickets to prevent her from travelling to South Africa. He insinuated that the purpose of her trips to South Africa was to meet with lovers.

The meeting agreed that Gundana and Zita should meet with Muiuane and discuss how to overcome the crisis in the marriage. The meeting could not be arranged at once becaue Muiuane was travelling to Japan.

He returned to Maputo on 11 December, and the meeting was fixed for 18.00 on 14 December. The indictment describes the meeting as tense, since Muiuane continued to hurl insults at Valentina.

Since there was no sign of any understanding, Valentina suggested that the two should separate “for some time”, which would imply Muiuane leaving the house they were sharing.

“Don’t even think about it”, he replied. He justified his refusal to leave on the grounds that the house he had lived in before they were married was now rented out.

Although Muiuane had started the meeting with the claim that everything was really fine between the couple, as the discussion wore on he called Valentina “stupid, crazy and a donkey”.

No consensus could be reached, and so Gundana and Zita left, after advising Muiuane to follow a path of “dialogue and tolerance”.

After the two had left, Valentina went into the bedroom of their 19 month old son, and told the servant to feed the child in the kitchen. About ten minutes later, Valentina’s aide-de-campe, named only as Rafael in the document, heard shots and his employer “screaming in agony”.

When he went into the bedroom, he found Valentina lying on the floor, bleeding profusely. She tried to speak, but without success.

Muiuane was beside her “in great agitation”, Rafael said. He took the pistol Muiuane had used, tucked it into his own belt, led Muiuane away from his dying wife and asked what had happened.

“She offended me in front of the godfathers, and she humiliated me”, he replied. Rafael added that Muiuane had been carrying the loaded pistol, even during the meeting with Gundana and Zita.

The prosecution argues that the fact that he had been armed showed that Muiuane intended to do harm to Valentina. Listing her injuries the indictment says that, before shots were fired, Muiuane had punched his wife, and hit her with the pistol butt.

Muiuane is facing four charges: first degree murder, psychological violence, illegal possession of firearms, and forgery (of a South African identity document). No date for the trial has yet been fixed.

Source: AIM