{"id":830,"date":"2021-06-15T15:10:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/?p=830"},"modified":"2021-06-15T15:10:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:10:58","slug":"lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal","title":{"rendered":"Lawyers demand transparency in police training school pregnancies scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

AfricaPress-mozambique:<\/strong> The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) on Monday expressed \u201cindignation at the lack of transparency\u201d by the Government regarding its handling of the scandal of police instructors suspected of getting female trainees pregnant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are outraged at the lack of transparency and information in relation to the enquiry that the Government said would be opened to ascertain what happened at the Matalane Police Practical School,\u201d Feroza Zacarias, chairperson of the OAM human rights commission, told Lusa.<\/p>\n

The case generated reactions from the President of the Republic and several public figures in August 2020 and is related to four female trainees who allegedly got pregnant by their instructors at the school, in Maputo province.<\/p>\n

Feroza Zacarias criticised the lack of clarification regarding the latest development: a report published a fortnight ago by Not\u00edcias, the country\u2019s main daily newspaper, quoted the commander-general of the Mozambique police (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, as saying that instructors suspected in the case had been transferred to other police units.<\/p>\n

Contacted by Lusa, the spokesman for the PRM, Orlando Modumane, limited himself to saying that \u201cthe transfers of police officers are normal in the institution,\u201d without further explanation.<\/p>\n

But Feroza Zacarias asked for clarification: \u201cWe know that it is perfectly normal to move and transfer staff within the civil service, but given the suspicions that have been raised around the instructors, it is the Government\u2019s duty to clarify under what circumstances they have been transferred\u201d.<\/p>\n

Justice Minister Helena Kida said in November in parliament that two instructors \u201cwere expelled from the corporation, as a culmination of disciplinary proceedings brought against them\u201d, but without further details.<\/p>\n

So far, it is unclear what has happened to other suspected instructors \u2013 the exact number of whom has never been made public by the authorities \u2013 and it is not known whether they have been cleared or are awaiting the outcome of their disciplinary or criminal proceedings.<\/p>\n

Feroza Zacarias warned against the risk of giving the impression that \u201charassment, rape and forced pregnancy are institutionalised\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cA police officer who has been a victim of gender-based violence and who has experienced impunity, may have little sensitivity to situations such as domestic violence, because he or she will consider these behaviours to be natural\u201d.<\/p>\n

She argued that the Government should be more transparent about the issue, informing society about the outcome of the processes, protecting the presumption of innocence and the dignity of all those involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of transparency is bad for everyone, including for the police officers themselves, who may be innocent\u201d and even because \u201csome of these relationships may be consensual\u201d.<\/p>\n

People linked to the Matalana Practical School, who spoke to Lusa under anonymity, said it was normal to have amorous involvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always had instructors getting involved with trainees, trainees getting involved with trainees and this has even resulted in marriages and families,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The same sources said the fact that the instructors were forced to stay longer at the school due to restrictions on going home as part of the Covid-19 prevention measures may have fostered more contact with the female trainees and resulted in the scandal.<\/p>\n

Until a fortnight ago, some of the suspects continued to be seen at the school, with it unknown \u201cwhether it is because they are innocent or whether it is because the matter has died down,\u201d one of the sources said.<\/p>\n

Contacted by Lusa, the director of the Matalana Police Training School declined to make a statement, referring the matter to the General Police Command.<\/p>\n

Despite trying to get in touch again, Lusa was unable to obtain further clarification from Orlando Modumane.<\/p>\n

In August 2020, the case merited the attention of the Mozambican President, referring to it as a \u201cserious\u201d case that deserved to be \u201cinvestigated in detail at ministerial level and at the general command\u201d of the PRM.<\/p>\n

The case provoked the indignation on social networks, and several Mozambican civil society organisations have demanded the accountability of the instructors.<\/p>\n

Mozambican activist Gra\u00e7a Machel even called for \u201ca broad and deep movement of repudiation against sexual harassment\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AfricaPress-mozambique: The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) on Monday expressed \u201cindignation at the lack of transparency\u201d by the Government regarding its handling of the scandal of police instructors suspected of getting female trainees pregnant. \u201cWe are outraged at the lack of transparency and information in relation to the enquiry that the Government said would be opened […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12],"tags":[349,269],"class_list":["post-830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-oam","tag-police"],"yoast_head":"\nLawyers demand transparency in police training school pregnancies scandal - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) on Monday expressed \u201cindignation at the lack of transparency\u201d by the Government regarding its\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawyers demand transparency in police training school pregnancies scandal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) on Monday expressed \u201cindignation at the lack of transparency\u201d by the Government regarding its\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-15T15:10:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/64\/2021\/06\/matalane.not_.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Lawyers demand transparency in police training school pregnancies scandal\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-15T15:10:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal\"},\"wordCount\":685,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/64\/2021\/06\/matalane.not_.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"OAM\",\"police\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/policy\/lawyers-demand-transparency-in-police-training-school-pregnancies-scandal\",\"name\":\"Lawyers demand transparency in police training school pregnancies scandal - 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