The archbishop of Nampula, Dom Inácio Saure, said on Wednesday (03) that despite court rulings and various institutional efforts, the Catholic Church has still not recovered the land that belongs to it and which remains illegally occupied.

Among the areas invaded, he highlighted the Mater Apostolorum Propaedeutic Seminary, the Interdiocesan Seminary of Philosophy, the Parish of St. John the Baptist in Marrere and the Mater Dei Monastery. "Walls have been destroyed, cashew trees and agricultural crops have been cut down, and wood has even been transported in trucks," he said, stressing that the damage is getting worse every day.

According to Dom Inácio, an injunction issued by the court in May 2025 remains unenforced. "I have a copy of it here. The bailiffs sent to the site were chased away by the occupiers and were unable to carry out their mission," he said.

Quoted in a publication in the Rigor newspaper, the prelate recalled that he had already appealed to the municipal authorities, to the governor of the province, Eduardo Abdula, and to the courts, but to date there has been no restitution. He also mentioned other assets that have not been returned, such as the infrastructure where the Rovuma University is located, in Napipine, and the Marrere General Hospital, built by the Church but currently managed almost without its participation.

Visibly frustrated, Dom Inácio questioned the effectiveness of the judicial system: "It seems that someone wants to turn Mozambique into a lawless village. The law no longer serves in this land. We have a court that has ruled, but nothing happens. Does this mean that the court has no power? It has no competence?"

The archbishop also pointed to the "obstinate refusal" of the occupants to leave the land, admitting that they may be being protected by "an invisible hand of the powerful, the untouchable".

Despite the impasse, he assured that the Church will continue to favor peaceful means and rejected any recourse to violence, reiterating that, if necessary, legal coercive means should be used to restore justice.

Dom Inácio explained that he had called on the press to launch a public appeal to the collective conscience, both inside and outside the country, stressing that the situation threatens to turn Mozambique into a "lawless village" and demands an urgent response from the authorities.

 

(Photo DR)