Africa-Press – Mozambique. For her family, friends and colleagues it is a source of unparalleled pain; for her mother, a living hell. The lady (whose name we omit) had already lost a son this year, and on Friday, tragedy, with macabre contours, returned.
Lara Muaves, an inspiring young woman and conservationist linked to the international environmental organisation World Wildlife Foundation in Mozambique, was surprised as she returned to her house in the Dona Alice area, Costa do Sol, in Maputo. She was assaulted, killed and her body thrown into a drainage ditch.
The fall, according to a police source, broke the neck of her already lifeless body.
Her assets were stolen – presumably, the motive for the crime. But did that alone justify such gruesome actions?
Police in Maputo, ‘Carta’ has learned, already have three suspects in custody. One of the three – builders working at her home – has reportedly confessed to the barbaric crime. Investigations are still ongoing and her body has not yet been handed over to the family. A brother of the victim, is quoted as saying he found the disfigured body.
Lara Muaves was born and raised in Mozambique and became a senior official working on local projects for WWF-Mozambique. The mother of two, she became interested in marine life when she was just a child and, as a teenager, realised that she wanted to pursue a career in marine conservation.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in biology in 2006, she worked for a few years with the WWF before temporarily moving to Australia to earn her master’s degree in Natural Resource Management and the Environment. In 2015, Lara returned to WWF-Mozambique to continue her dream: to work with coastal communities on sustainable livelihoods and preserve healthy coastal and marine ecosystems.
By
Omardine Omar
