Priest Arrested in Mozambique Bishop Killing; Local Catholics Skeptical

Reports seemingly conflict about the killing of Bishop Osório Citara Afonso​

Investigators in Mozambique have arrested three people in connection to the June 6 killing of Bishop Osório Citara Afonso, leader of the Quelimane diocese.

One of the arrested suspects is a Catholic priest. The others are a guard and a gardener who worked in the bishop’s residence.

The priest is incardinated in the Quelimane diocese, according to local media reports, but has not been named in the press statement issued by SERNIC, the country’s national investigative force.

The prospect that the killing was perpetrated by insiders at the bishop’s residence is a new turn in the case. Statements made on the day of Afonso’s killing detailed that suspects had reportedly scaled the walls of the building to disable the security system — which would not appear necessary if the culprits had easy access to the bishops’ residence.

Initial statements also said that Afonso had been shot in the chest with a modernized Kalashnikov (AK-M), an assault rifle widely used by government forces in the country.

In light of those reports, the arrest of the priest has been met with skepticism by local Catholics, according to a source close to the diocese, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the sake of safety.

The source — employed by a charity which works closely ecclesial leaders in Mozambique — said there is strong local suspicion that if the arrested priest is involved, a plot to kill the bishop might have involved a larger group of collaborators.

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