Africa-Press – Mozambique. Judge Efigenio Baptista, of the Maputo City Court, on Monday found himself obliged to adjourn the trial in the case of Mozambique’s “hidden debts” when one of the defendants collapsed and had to be taken to hospital.
Businesswoman Angela Leao, the wife of the former General Director of the Security and Intelligence Service (SISE), Gregorio Leao, had been absent from the court for the previous three weeks on grounds of illness.
She was deemed well enough to appear on Monday to hear witnesses whose testimony concerns her real estate business, which, the prosecution argues, was funded by bribes paid to the Leao couple by the Abu Dhabi based group, Privinvest.
Her lawyer, Daniel Cumbana, feared that it might be premature to allow her back into court. He alleged that the prison authorities were making it difficult for her to receive the medical care she needs.
“She has had difficulty contacting her medical team”, he said. “She has faced difficulty in visiting Maputo Central Hospital, because of obstruction by the prison”.
Leao herself told the judge “I’m ill, and the prison doesn’t believe me. When the sickness hits me, I need to go immediately to hospital. The court must help me”.
“My illness is getting worse”, she claimed. “I will die if things continue like this. When this trial ends, I will no longer exist”.
Baptista promised that on Wednesday morning (the court does not sit on Wednesday) he would visit the prison in person and hear what the authorities there had to say about Leao’s complaints.
But in the meantime, the trial would continue, with testimony from Italma Simoes Pereira, owner of an architectural company that worked on some of Leao’s building projects.
But in the middle of Pereira’s testimony. Leao collapsed. No medical aid was immediately available, and so a group of defence lawyers and fellow defendants helped her. It took 15 minutes before health workers appeared on the scene.
Accompanied by her husband, and by her sister Mbanda Henning (who are both also defendants), Leao was driven to hospital in a prison vehicle.
Cumbana told reporters “When we lawyers present complaints on behalf of our clients, we are regarded with mistrust. Our prisons don’t allow prisoners to go to hospital at the due time. Ever since Angela Leao was arrested (in early 2019), I have been fighting for her to receive proper medical care”.
Leao’s health crisis forced Baptista to reschedule the trial. Those witnesses whose testimony concerns Leao’s business dealings and their potential links with Privinvest will now be heard in mid-December.
Baptista adjourned the trial until Thursday.
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