(SomaliNet) A newspaper columnist was this sentenced to six months in prison by a Maputo court for defaming an opposition politician, published in 2005 in an independent newspaper.
The columnist for the weekly independent Zambeze newspaper, Edwin Hounnou, whose real name is Inacio Baptista, was found guilty of defaming Francisco Machambisse, a Renamo Electoral Union Member of Parliament.
according to reports, Hounnou wrote that Machambisse had been bought by the ruling Frelimo with an amount of US 1 million dollars deposited in a South African bank account to facilitate the victory of Frelimo in the 2004 general elections.
Amid allegations of vote fraud Renamo lost the 2004 general elections to Frelimo. After the publication of the article, Machambisse took legal action that led to the sentencing of the newspaper columnist on Friday.
Salamao Moyana , a journalist and former shareholder of the same paper, was sentenced by the same court to a 30 day prison term and Lourenco Jossias the former editor of the same paper to 20 days in prison in the same defamation case.
