Italian businessman Humberto Sartone, who was detained in Maputo on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering, was found dead today in the maximum-security prison where he had been held since April, according to the national penitentiary service. In a statement, the General Directorate of the National Penitentiary Service (Sernap) reported that the businessman was discovered in his cell at approximately 08:30 local time (07:30 in Lisbon).
Sartone was found lying on the floor “apparently without vital signs” during the shift change of the guards assigned to the Machava Special Maximum Security Penitentiary Establishment (BO), located on the outskirts of the Mozambican capital.
The case has been reported to the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic), which conducted an on-site inspection and confirmed the death. Sernap has guaranteed it will “investigate the actual circumstances” surrounding the death of the businessman, who had notably initiated a hunger strike following his arrest. Humberto Sartone, the owner of the Kaya Kwanga guest house located in a prime area of Maputo, was arrested on April 21 alongside several alleged associates.
The arrests followed search and seizure operations at properties linked to the suspects as part of a high-profile investigation that has drawn media attention due to Sartone’s alleged links to influential Mozambican groups.
Read more: Mozambique: Mondlane files complaint over persecution of party members
Among the detained associates are Saleem Karim and Tarmomed Valai Mahomed, a Mozambican businessman of Pakistani origin, along with his son, Anass Tarmomed, according to Sernic spokesperson Hilário Lole. Lole stated that the authorities suspect the individuals are part of an organized crime network involved in money laundering and document forgery.
Sernap had previously voiced its concern over the hunger strike Sartone was conducting while in custody. “He voluntarily refuses to ingest food, maintaining this position until the present moment, a fact that caused concern on the part of the prison unit management,” Sernap explained in an earlier communication.
Sernap stated that they had contacted the family and notified the businessman’s legal representative to “sensitize him to abandon the strike,” but despite these efforts, the suspect maintained his position. The service maintained that it was monitoring the situation with due responsibility, ensuring respect for the inmate’s fundamental rights and strict compliance with legal and humanitarian standards in Mozambique.
Mozambique remains among the African countries with high crime rates and low resilience to organized crime. According to the “Africa Organized Crime Index 2025” presented last November in Kenya, Mozambique ranks eighth among African nations with the highest crime rates, scoring 6.63 on a scale of one to ten.
