Court postpones trial of accused of acts of rebellion in Cafunfo

Salvador Freire said, in statements to the Lusa agency, that the trial, which had already been postponed for a week, last Monday, will not take place because "the Public Ministry is not prepared to present the allegations".

According to the lawyer, on the occasion he presented a question related to two of the deceased defendants, who were detained in the region of Catanda and who until today have not been buried.

"There is suffering on the part of the relatives, who expect their relatives to be buried. In this, the court will do all the necessary steps in order to carry out a dignified funeral for these individuals, co-arguidos, who died in the Katanda jail", he said. the defense.

According to the same source, one of the deceased died more than 30 days ago and the second about 50 days ago.

The lawyer said he hopes that the trial will actually take place next Wednesday, noting that there have already been two postponements around this process.

"What's more, we are not residents here in Dundo [capital of the province of Lunda Norte], we come from Luanda, we came only for this trial and as such, I think everything will be done so that the trial takes place next Wednesday" , he stressed.

Last week, when the trial was postponed, closing arguments were scheduled, but the session was postponed to this Monday due to the need for the prosecutor to be out of town.
After the allegations, the questioning phase follows, which precedes the judgment.

The leader of the Portuguese Lunda Tchokwe Protectorate Movement (MPPLT), José Mateus Zeca Mutchima, blamed for the incidents in Cafunfo, which caused deaths and injuries on 30 January 2021, has been detained by the Criminal Investigation Service since 8 February 2021. 2021, indicted for the crimes of "association of malefactors and armed rebellion".

According to the police, about 300 people linked to the MPPLT, which for years has defended autonomy in that region rich in mineral resources, tried to invade, in the early hours of January 30, 2021, a police station in Cafunfo, and in defense the forces of order and security killed six people.

The police version is contradicted by the leaders of the MPPLT, political parties in the opposition and local civil society, who speak of more than a dozen deaths.

Zeca Mutchima is appointed by the authorities as the leader of this alleged "act of rebellion", which for local citizens was a "peaceful demonstration".

The Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) accused Zeca Mutchima and 25 protesters of committing crimes of outrage against the State and its symbols and association of criminals.

The Public Ministry's order states that the co-defendants and others, in a total of 400 people, belonging to the so-called MPPLT, armed with firearms, of the AKM type, shotguns, arrows, irons, sticks, sharp instruments, handcrafted explosive devices, forks (slingshots), small axes, machetes and superstitious artefacts were moved to the premises where the police station in Cafunfo operates, with the aim of occupying it.