KILLER OF JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS
Maputo, 28 Sep (AIM) – The Maputo Provincial Law Court on Friday sentenced Elias Ndlate, the man who confessed to murdering journalist Joao Chamusse in December 2023, to 20 years imprisonment.
Chamusse was found dead in his home, in the Maputo municipal district of Katembe on 14 December 2023. He was the editor of the weekly paper “Ponto Por Ponto”, and over his career had worked for several other independent publications. He was also a regular commentator on the television station “TV Successo”.
Chamusse was murdered by blows to the head. After visiting the scene “Ponto Por Ponto” co-owner Esmeralda Amaral said “a deep wound to the head was visible, and there was blood all over the yard”.
The police took away a machete and a hoe which they believed could have been used as murder weapons.
Initially, police arrested a neighbour, Nelson Mulando, who had supposedly been annoyed by Chamusse playing loud music late at night. Mulando was released a few days later, since there was no evidence against him.
The 24 year old Ndlate, however, confessed to the crime, but did not offer any clear motive.
The lawyer for the Chamusse family, Joao Nhampossa, interviewed by the independent television station STV, lamented that Ndlate’s confession meant that there would be no further investigation.
Under the Mozambican penal code, a free and spontaneous confession by an accused person ends the investigation, although it could be re-opened if fresh evidence were to come to light,
The lawyer regarded this as a setback for criminal investigation, since the previous penal code did not contain this limitation. He noted that it is not clear whether Ndlate had any accomplices, or what motivated his crime.
“He could be lying, or he could be telling the truth. We shall always be in doubt”, he said.
The court also ordered Ndlate to pay compensation of 350,000 meticais (about 5,500 US dollars, at the current exchange rate) to Chamusse’s family. The family had demanded at least a million meticais, but the judge set the sum much lower, bearing in mind Ndlate’s capacity to pay.
(AIM)
Pf/ (355)
