Husband denies murdering ex-president’s daughter

MAPUTO: Mozambican businessman Zofimo Muiuane on Monday denied murdering his wife, Valentina Guebuza, the daughter of former president Armando Guebuza, thus withdrawing the confession he had made shortly after the murder.

On trial before the Maputo City Court, Muiuane, who is facing charges of murder, illegal possession of firearms and falsification of documents, claimed that Valentina pulled the trigger in the middle of a fight between the couple.

The prosecution argues that, on the day of Valentina’s death, December 14, last year, Muiuane fired several shots at his wife, two of which hit her in the thorax and one in the abdomen. She was rushed to hospital but doctors could not revive her.

The two married in 2014, but the marriage was soon in trouble.

The shooting was preceded by a meeting between the couple and their godparents in an attempt to solve their problems. But at the meeting, Valentina said she wanted a separation, and demanded that Muiuane leave her house.

At that point the godparents left, and the row became serious.

According to Muiuane, Valentina seized his pistol, pointed it at him and said “Get out of my house or I’ll kill you”.

A fight then erupted, during which Valentina allegedly shot herself by mistake.

In the house the police found a South African identity document, in the name of Washington Dube, but bearing the photograph of Muiuane. Asked what he was doing with a forged South African document, Muiuane claimed he was a spy working for the Mozambican Intelligence and Security Service.

Although the ID bearing the photograph of one person and the name of another was obviously a fake, Muiuane insisted that it was not false, but he could not give details “in order to preserve the integrity of the state”. – Foreign Service