The agent of the National Investigation Service (SERNIC), Galileu Lourenço Singano, accused of murdering the citizen identified as Elísio José Nhachungue, has had his two-year sentence converted into a fine.

According to the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), the SERNIC agent is the son of Lourenço Singano, a general in Mozambique's Armed Forces and Defense. This would have been the basis for the "amortization" of the conviction.

Nhachungue was murdered on the afternoon of October 22, 2022, in the house where he lived, in the T3 neighborhood, in the municipality of Matola, Maputo province. He was allegedly called to the back of his house by a young man. Immediately afterwards, three shots were heard. Two of them hit Elísio near the shoulder, next to his heart, causing serious injuries.

"Even though he was wounded, Elísio Nhachungue asked his 15-year-old sister, Tânia, for help before collapsing in front of the house. When neighbors heard the shots, they tried to help him, but Elísio Nhachungue didn't resist and lost his life on the way to the hospital," describes the CDD.

In that scenario, the SERNIC agent hid his weapon and pretended to be calling the authorities, "but then disappeared from the scene".

The motives for the murder are as yet unknown.

According to the CDD, Lourenço Singano promised to pay for the funeral costs, but failed to do so in full.

In October 2023, the family was summoned to the trial at the Maputo City Judicial Court, and learned that the SERNIC agent was free to answer the case. The court asked the family to change their lawyer. This led to the trial being postponed until March of this year.

"On the day of the trial, the judge refused to hear the witnesses from the victim's family and only agreed to hear the testimony of the witnesses linked to the defendant, all of whom were friends and colleagues of the accused, and then scheduled the reading of the sentence for a later date," says the CDD.

The verdict was handed down on May 28, 2024, but was only made public on September 5, 2024, after pressure from the press, as the family tried to find out about the verdict, but to no avail.

"The court sentenced Galileo Lourenço Singano to just two years in prison, converted into a fine, for voluntary homicide. However, the Penal Code stipulates that the minimum sentence for this crime is 20 to 24 years in prison, since it is an aggravated homicide due to the fact that the crime was committed in circumstances that reveal special censorship or perversity, as prescribed in article 160 of the Penal Code. It is believed that the fact that the SERNIC agent was the son of a general had an influence on the process and the judge's final decision, taking into account the above," writes the CDD.

Elísio left behind three children and a pregnant wife, now the mother of four.