Andre Hanekom died in police custody in the provincial capital, Pemba, last week, and the cause of death is suspected poisoning, APA can report.
“Taking into account that he lost his life while he was a suspect and under detention, and in accordance with the law, we have officially requested the report of the forensic medicine services at the hospital to ascertain the real causes of his death”, said the spokesperson for the Attorney’s office, Armando Wilson, at a Pemba press conference on Friday.
Wilson added that his office was unaware of Hanekom’s state of health, and was therefore surprised at the news of his death, hence an investigation could be opened if the autopsy showed that he had not died from natural causes.
In January, months after his detention, the public prosecutor’s office in Cabo Delgado named Hanekom and two Tanzanians as leaders of a jihadist group, which has been terrorising the gas-rich northern province for more than a year.