Maputo — The Maputo Provincial Court has sentenced four policemen to prison terms of eight years each for manslaughter.

According to a report in the weekly paper "Zambeze", the former head of operations at the police command in Magude district, Reginaldo Zunguza, and three of his subordinates, Fernando Almeida, Abudo Valay and Afonso Rungo, were found guilty of causing the death of a man named Sergio Cuna on 14 January 2004.

The police opened fire on the vehicles in which Cuna was travelling and he died in the hail of police bullets.

The police defence is that they were acting on the orders of the Namaacha district attorney, Felix Jotamo, who was in the car with them. Their lawyer, Boavida Zandamela, said he intended to appeal against the verdict and sentence to the Supreme Court.

Since they were acting under the instructions of the district attorney, if anyone had committed an illegal act it was Jotamo, and not the policemen who were obeying his orders, argued Zandamela.

However, Cuna's family are also thinking of appealing - because they regard the sentence of eight years as far too light. They also protest that the compensation the four policemen have been ordered to pay - 140,000 meticais (about 5,740 US dollars) is derisory.