Unknown assailants set fire to the official residence of the Manica district attorney in the early hours of Thursday morning (29). This is the third such incident against the judiciary in Manica province in the space of a month.

Recently, the office of the chief prosecutor in the city of Chimoio was broken into at a time when there were no security guards. According to a DW report, the burglars allegedly stole files and took a laptop, a cell phone and a pen-drive containing classified information. The Provincial Anti-Corruption Office was also broken into and some files were allegedly taken.

After Thursday's incident, Manica's chief district prosecutor, Abílio Cabral Guilima, suspects that there may be an intention to "intimidate" the magistrates because of some ongoing cases.

"Evildoers, who have not yet been identified, came to this place, entered through the back of the house, through the door that gives access to the kitchen, and brought with them a container of gasoline. They watered the door and set it on fire," said the chief district prosecutor, Abílio Cabral Guilima, who has been in Manica for seven months.

According to the magistrate, "because of the complexity of our profession, we can't rule this out. There are several cases on our table and naturally no one would want to go through a situation of being accused or indicted."

In the same week, unknown assailants also tried to steal the car of the director of the State Information and Security Services (SISE) in the city of Chimoio.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) in Manica province have said that they are already investigating Thursday's incident. The corporation's spokesman, Mateus Mindú, promised that as soon as the perpetrators are identified, they will be brought to justice immediately.

"We're talking about arson and, because it's criminal, we're working together with other areas of the Ministry of the Interior to identify the perpetrators of this crime so that they can be held responsible for their actions," said Mateus Mindú.