Maputo — The Court of southern Mozambican province of Gaza has revealed that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial of former senior officials from Xai-Xai district involved in misappropriation of donations intended for the victims of the floods that hit that province earlier this year.
The case involves the former Xai-Xai administrator, Argilência Chissano; Jeanet Novela, head of the Inhamissa Administrative Post; Adolfo Maciel, director of the District Planning and Infrastructure Service; and Dionísio Maciel, a warehouse clerk.
The four will await trial in freedom after posting bail set between 50,000 and 75,000 meticais (from 780 to 1,170 US dollars at the current exchange rate).
In his indictment ruling, investigating Judge Justino Bungane declared the four defendants face charges related to the "diversion of humanitarian aid mobilized for flood victims in Xai-Xai." However, Judge Bungane dropped the charge of criminal association due to a lack of "proof of coordinated group action."
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The court also dismissed charges against Dora Artur, director of the Office of the Governor of Gaza Province, ruling there was insufficient evidence against her.
Cases against four other suspects Claudina Guaimbê, Samora Catumbi, Imildo Simbinel, and Inácio Sitoe were likewise shelved due to a lack of evidence demonstrating conscious involvement in the crimes.
The emergency response followed severe flooding that struck Xai-Xai this year, displacing thousands of people and prompting a major relief effort from the government, non-governmental organizations, and international partners.
According to the latest update of the National Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (INGD), the death toll from the current rainy season in Mozambique has risen to 289, with over a million people affected since October.
The January floods alone resulted in at least 43 deaths, 147 injuries, and nine people missing, affecting a total of 715,716 people. Meanwhile, the passage of Cyclone Gezani through Inhambane on February 13 and 14 caused four more deaths and affected 9,040 people.
