Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Attorney General of Mozambique yesterday defended the criminal liability of the people who may have been behind three accidents that caused the deaths of 35 people in the south of the country.
“We have to study the causes (…) and the results we get from these inquiries, with the causes ascertained, we have to start taking seriously the responsibility of the people who may have been at the origin of these accidents,” said the Attorney General of the Republic, Américo Letela, during a working visit to Gaza province, southern Mozambique.
At issue are three road accidents that took place on Monday, resulting in the deaths of 35 people and a further 13 injured, according to figures released by the National Road Transport Institute (INATRO).
One of the accidents, which resulted in the death of 23 people and injured four, happened at dawn in the Manhiça district, on National Highway Number 1 (N1), following a crash and subsequent fall of a passenger bus.
In light of these accidents, the Mozambican Attorney General called for “concrete actions” that include taking responsibility for those behind the cases.
“Appealing speeches are no longer allowed, because there is a rule. The question we’re asking is: a vehicle that has passed through several posts outside the hours stipulated by law should be restricted in its circulation (…), but colleagues were there at the post. These vehicles passed through and ended up being involved in accidents,” Letela lamented.
The Mozambican Interior Minister has suspended the traffic enforcement agents who were working in the early hours of the morning when the accident that killed 23 people took place in Maputo province, southern Mozambique.
On 15 April, Mozambique’s government approved a Road Safety Action Plan, which provides for a series of actions to reduce the number of road accidents, including stepping up inspections, changes to legislation, and interventions at critical points, as well as raising awareness among communities.
INATRO starts on 22 August with “Operation Brake” to prevent speeding and drink driving, with the institution’s management promising other campaigns to check the legality of drivers.
On Monday, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo called for caution in driving after announcing the deaths of the 11 victims of the accident in Gaza.
At least 409 people died in Mozambique in the first half of this year as a result of road accidents, which also caused 823 injuries, according to figures sent to Lusa by the Mozambican police, with the authorities pointing to speeding and drink driving as the main causes.
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