This Wednesday, the Inhambane Provincial Court sentenced an agent of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) to 13 years in prison for inciting a coup d'état and disobedience..

The convict fainted after the sentence was read out, but regained consciousness after being revived by a court official.

Thus, the court pointed out that the sum of the crimes attributable to the agent is punishable by a prison sentence of at least 24 years, but decided to make a "special reduction" for unspecified reasons.

The Public Prosecutor's Office accused the UIR officer of sending messages via the social network `Whatsaap', mobilizing other members of the police to rebel against the salary delays in the corporation and threatening to "remove the commander-in-chief (President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi) from Ponta Vermelha", as well as "bring the country to a standstill".

"So that others, who use social networks, don't spread messages that promote coups d'état, we ask that the sentence of 30 years' imprisonment be increased," said the public prosecutor during the defendant's trial.

During the trial, the defendant distanced himself from the authorship of the message, indicating that he had forwarded it to the commander-general of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, with the intention of alerting him.