“We are concerned about the cases of murder of women in Sofala [a province in central Mozambique], which are taking on alarming proportions,” said President Daniel Chapo, inaugurating a court in the Chibabava region of Sofala, in the centre of the country.
“Just to illustrate, in the first quarter of this year, six women were killed by their partners, compared to three in the same period last year, a 100% increase in the cases we are aware of,” said the head of state, adding that the courts “must pay attention to their educational role”.
“This type of behaviour deserves our vehement repudiation and condemnation, as these are crimes that disturb public order, tranquillity and security, a practice that should not be promoted or tolerated by any Mozambican,” he added.
The Mozambican president criticised what he considered taking “justice into one’s own hands”, which, he explained, is practised by a group of citizens who believe they can judge and condemn others, outside the legal institutions, because they believe they have committed some kind of crime.
For Daniel Chapo, those who take ‘justice’ into their own hands are attacking the physical and psychological integrity of the victims, putting lives at risk, and he called for criminal acts to be judged by judicial institutions.
“Trying to punish suspects on your own is not the solution. By proceeding in this way, we do not solve the problem, quite the contrary. This wave of violence can generate even more violence within the community, in a cascade effect, starting with the victims’ own families,” warned Daniel Chapo, also pointing to the risk of “discrediting formal justice,” generating “revenge upon revenge.”
Private individuals cannot, as some of our fellow citizens would like, locate and punish people who are alleged to have committed crimes, as there are institutions with that responsibility, which is why we favour, among other things, the police-community relationship for the prevention and combating of conflicts,” he insisted.
In May, the Mozambican president announced the construction of 97 justice facilities and 10 prisons by 2029, to bring law enforcement closer to citizens and reduce overcrowding in the country’s prisons.
“We have set a target for the five-year period of 97 justice infrastructure facilities to be built by 2029 (…), we also intend to build 10 prisons,” the Mozambican head of state said at the time.
Platform with Lusa
