Africa-Press – Angola. The Huambo District Court began, this Monday, the trial involving five former public managers, between 2010 and 2014, after being postponed on the 4th of this month, due to the absence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office magistrates.
These are the defendants João Sérgio Raul (at the time of the events, secretary general of the Government of the province of Huambo), Victor Chissingui (former director of the Studies, Planning and Statistics office) and Constantino César (head of the Administration, Heritage department , IT, Budget Management and Transport of the General Secretariat of the Government of the province of Huambo).
Also included among co-defendants in the well-known “Restos a Pagar” case are Claudino Sicato Tiago (former head of the Budget Execution and Accounting section of the general secretary of the Government of Huambo) and Cândido Abel Camuti (director of the office of the then local governor, Fernando Faustino Muteka).
The first day of the trial, which took place in the courtroom of the 1st section of criminal matters, led by the judge and president of the case Bruno de Melo, was marked by the preliminary questions, where the lawyers began to put into practice the strategies to conduct the process in favor of constituents.
Of the various questions requested, the lawyers were unanimous in declaring that, in the event of the absence in court of the former governor of the province of Huambo, Fernando Faustino Muteka, the trial could violate the rules for producing evidence, essential due diligence and the discovery of the material truth.
In turn, the Public Ministry magistrate defended the interrogation of the co-accused and that, at the time of the hearing of the declarants, in which the former governor of Huambo is mentioned, he will be requested for the hearing, production of evidence and the truth material.
The presiding judge of the case, Bruno de Melo, ruled in favor of the nullity of some previous questions raised by the lawyers and others he rejected, above all, from constituting the former governor of Huambo, Fernando Faustino Muteka, as a defendant, as requested by the lawyers.
The judge recalled during the hearing that this is not a new case, but rather a new trial, in compliance with ruling 5196/19 of the Supreme Court, which annulled the decision taken in the first instance.
The trial resumes Tuesday, with the interrogation of the co-accused.
It should be remembered that four of the five co-accused, except the former director of the office of the then governor of the province of Huambo, Cândido Abel Camuti, had already been sentenced, in 2020, by the Huambo District Court, to nine years in prison. , for the crime of embezzlement, however this decision was annulled by the Supreme Court.
In the trial ruling, it had been proven that the co-defendants caused global losses to the budgetary unit of the Government of the province of Huambo and six new independent bodies, at the time, of one billion, 176 million and 118 thousand Kwanzas, from which they directly benefited from the value of 488 million, 40 thousand, 685 Kwanzas and 39 cents, in addition to other public goods.
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