Mozambique: Attorney-general calls for special courts for terrorism linked crimes

By Jorge Joaquim

Mozambique’s attorney-general, Beatriz Buchili, has suggested creating specific courts to address crimes related to terrorism, a move supported by the prime minister, Carlos Agostinho do Rosário.

Mozambique has in recent months suffered greatly from increasing activity by ISIS-affiliated and ISIS-inspired terrorists in the northern part of the country in Cabo Delgado.

While the insurgency mainly comprises marginalised local youth from one of the least-developed parts of the world’s sixth-poorest nation, police have arrested dozens of citizens of Tanzania, which borders to the north, and accused them of being involved.

Buchili says magistrates need to do more to investigate the sources of terrorist financing.

“We cannot take this issue lightly. The financing of terrorism is done through drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal fishing, bank transactions. What control are we taking of our coast?” she asked.

However, ordinary courts already have the capacity to process these kinds of crimes, but that having courts, magistrates and investigators dedicated exclusively to terrorism would speed up investigations.

The insurgency has left at least 2,000 people dead and forced more than 300,000 others to flee their homes.