Maputo, 25 Feb (AIM) – The Mozambican Police has announced the arrest of Cláudia Eli, the councilor for finance of Xai-Xai Municipal Council, in the southern province of Gaza, for alleged involvement in the theft of donations intended for the victims of the catastrophic flooding that overwhelmed much of Xai-Xai city in January.
The authorities had already announced the previous day the arrest of Argelencia Unguana, the administrator of Xai-Xai district; Dora Adelina Artur, the director of the office of the Gaza provincial governor, and a local warehouse official. They are all accused of stealing donations intended for flood victims.
According to Simão Simbine, head of the legal office at Xai-Xai Municipal Council, about 75 kits of food products intended for flood victims were found in Eli’s garage, at her official residence.
Among the stolen items found after the arrests of Unguana and Artur were 218 mattresses, 41 bales of clothing, maize flour, rice, cooking oil, and biscuits.
Zaqueu Mucambe, the spokesperson for the Gaza branch of the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) told a Tuesday press conference that his office will be “implacable” towards anyone involved in the thefts, regardless of any positions they may hold.
Mucambe said that when the police moved against the suspects on Monday, they claimed they were taking the goods to an accommodation centre for flood victims set up at a local secondary school.
The police did not believes this story, since the goods were being moved later than the time established for distributing relief supplies.
(AIM)
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