ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION OF TWO-STORY BUILDING TRIAL BEGINS IN MOZAMBIQUE

The trial of four men accused of the illegal construction of a two-story building within a restricted area belonging to Beira airport began on 29 June in Beira.

The building was being erected near air traffic control equipment and could pose a threat to communications between aircraft and the Beira airport control tower. So, in mid-2021, the Public Prosecutor’s Office embargoed all further work on the site. A prominent embargo notice was slapped on the building, but work has continued.

The four men, three Mozambicans, and a Chinese citizen are charged with the crime of disobedience for ignoring the embargo notice. But there are serious doubts as to whether the police arrested the right people since none of the four owns the building.

The three Mozambicans claim to be odd-job men, and say they were arrested because they were cooking lunch near the building. A report carried out by the television station STV says the Chinese citizen may have been confused with the real owner of the building. He says he was arrested near the building on his way to work.

The arresting police officer could not give the Beira City Court a convincing explanation for why he had detained the four. He told the judge he had found them near the building site and believed that the Chinese were the owner of the job and that the three Mozambicans worked for him. But he could give no evidence.

The three Mozambicans are being held in preventive detention, while the Chinese citizen has been granted provisional freedom.