Six criminals lynched to death in Mozambique over rape, assault

MAPUTO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Six intruders who broke into homes to rape and assault people were lynched to death by local residents on Wednesday morning in the municipality of Matola, Maputo province in Mozambique.

According to Fernando Manhica, provincial spokesman for the Police of Republic of Mozambique, there were a total of eight gangsters with guns.

"The criminals entered a residence to assault, coincidentally the residents of the neighborhood were patrolling and came across them," said the spokesman.

The spokesman added that the criminals tried to flee, but the patrollers chased them down and six members of the group were lynched. The other two are still at large.

"The population used sticks, irons and stones to immobilize the gang," the spokesman said, adding that "the corporation is diligently seeking other members of the group."

Manhica explained that during the identification of the victims, it was verified that they are criminals that have previously invaded residences in Matola at night.

"Two weeks ago, we had a record of a residence that was assaulted, a 27-year-old householder was shot and died on the way to the hospital," he said.

Cases of criminals who break homes to steal, rape and kill are frequent on the outskirts of Maputo city.

The population complains that the police have not done enough patrols to reduce crime, so when they catch a criminal they execute lynch by themselves.

The spokesman said that the corporation condemns the attitude of doing justice for its own sake, and urges people to turn over the criminal to the authorities for accountability.

"The capture of the suspects alive is always better because it leads us to other members of the gang," he concluded.

Cases of lynching are frequent in Mozambique, with a higher incidence in the province of Sofala in central Mozambique.

According to the statistics released in October this year by the National Human Rights Commission of Mozambique, 27 deaths of lynching were recorded in 2016.

"The numbers show that on average there are two lynchings per week in Mozambique. Unfortunately it is a practice of the Mozambican reality," said the Attorney General of the Republic, Beatriz Buchili, when the data was released. Enditem