Last Friday the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) issued a summons and notification to investigative journalist Estácio Valoi in connection with case file 1586/DD SERNIC/Pba 2026.
“Pursuant to Article 13 of Law No. 5/2025 of June 13, in conjunction with Article 126, paragraph 2, and Article 320, paragraph 1—both of the Code of Criminal Procedure—Mr. Estácio Valoi, represented by his legal counsel, is hereby notified to appear at this District Directorate of Criminal Investigation (SERNIC)—located at the District Public Prosecutor’s Office in Pemba—on October 26, 2026, at 9:00 AM, to provide testimony regarding the aforementioned case,” states the notice from SERNIC-Pemba.
It should be recalled that on June 16, three SERNIC agents arrived at Valoi’s residence in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province, served him with a judicial warrant, and confiscated his mobile phones, computers, and tablets, according to the journalist.
The search warrant, issued on May 25 by the Judicial Court of the City of Pemba, did not specify the reasons for the seizure of Valoi’s personal and professional equipment.
Estácio Valoi recovered his equipment three months later, following a court ruling in his favor.
“They had never questioned me before. They only came to conduct a search. Now, for the first time, I will be questioned,” Valoi told “Profundus.”
Furthermore, in December 2025, Valoi stated that he had faced a “coordinated offensive” by… …intimidation due to his reporting on timber smuggling in Cabo Delgado, where the government has been battling an insurgency linked to the Islamic State since 2017.
On April 23, the public prosecutor designated Valoi an “acusado”—a Portuguese legal term meaning “formal suspect,” which often serves as a preliminary step before an arrest or formal indictment. This designation followed a criminal complaint for defamation filed by Safi Timber against Valoi and Moz 24h regarding an August 2025 article about timber. (Muamine Benjamim).JORNAL PROFUNDUS)
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