– Man denies the accusation and says he was tortured by police
– Bishop was murdered at his episcopal residence in June
By MOZTIMES
Quelimane (MOZTIMES) – The National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) on Wednesday presented a 46-year-old man in Quelimane accused of murdering Dom Osório Citora Afonso, the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Quelimane.
The man, whose identity was not disclosed, was presented to the press alongside an AK-47-type firearm believed to have been used in the crime.
The bishop was murdered at night at his episcopal residence in early June.
Domingos Barone, head of SERNIC’s Forensic Science Department, told journalists that the suspect was arrested on 29 October following criminal intelligence work.
The suspect is from Zambézia province and previously served in the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces and the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM). According to Barone, the man was expelled from the police in 2015 for committing several offences while assigned to the Border Guard Police Branch in Massingir district, Gaza province.
Barone said SERNIC had been monitoring the suspect’s movements since it uncovered evidence of his involvement in the bishop’s murder. He said evidence had been found on several devices seized from defendants in the case. “After the murder, the suspect buried the murder weapon and fled to Zambia, returning two months later,” he added.
Barone also said the suspect was friends with one of the defendants, who is in custody and accused of having ordered the murder. “We established that the two met regularly, kept in touch and made money transfers, particularly between May 2026 and the day before the bishop’s murder,” he said.
The suspect is being held in pre-trial detention.
The suspect denies involvement in the crime and says he was arrested by police on 28 October and tortured to force him to confess. He says he passed out and was left with marks on his body as a result of the alleged torture.
“It isn’t true [that I murdered the bishop]. I’m here because the police arrested me and tortured me. I can’t admit to something just because I’m being tortured here,” the suspect said.
Asked about his relationship with Father Adelino Novais, the suspect said he knew the priest and had received money from him to help him find a traditional healer. He said that although he had received the money, he had never looked for the healer.
He explained that he met the priest when he helped him repair a tyre on his car in Nocoadala district, near Quelimane, and that the two had stayed in touch since then.
Father Adelino Novais was arrested a few days after the bishop’s murder, along with a guard and a gardener from the episcopal residence, where the bishop was shot dead. The priest is accused of having ordered the bishop’s murder. Other people are being held in connection with the case, and SERNIC says it is still looking for other suspects. (MT)
