Gambiaj.com – (BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau) – The family of Major Domingos Nhanque, deputy prosecutor of Guinea-Bissau’s Superior Military Court, has reported that he was kidnapped on Monday, October 27, and has remained missing since. His relatives fear for his life amid unconfirmed reports circulating on social media that he is being beaten.
According to the victim’s brother, António Nhaga, who also serves as President of the Order of Journalists of Guinea-Bissau, Major Nhanque was summoned to the General Staff of the Armed Forces after a phone call allegedly made by the President of the Republic to the President of the Supreme Military Court.
Nhaga told DW Africa that his brother traveled to the General Staff headquarters accompanied by the President of the Superior Military Court.
Upon arrival, however, Nhanque was allegedly placed in a black car with tinted windows and taken directly to the Presidential Palace, where he has not been seen or heard from since.
“We don’t know his condition or whether he has eaten since Monday when he was kidnapped,” Nhaga said. “We only know that this dark car took him directly to the Presidency of the Republic.”
The family has made several unsuccessful attempts to contact both the presidency and the military court for information about Nhanque’s whereabouts. Nhaga recounted that he spent hours at the Military Court seeking answers but was refused a meeting with its president.
“I even suggested that perhaps they had killed my brother. The president said no, but claimed my brother was being monitored by counterintelligence. Still, he wouldn’t tell me where he was,” Nhaga added.
The Guinean League for Human Rights (LGDH) has since called for the urgent intervention of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces to locate and release Major Nhanque.
The organization expressed deep concern over what it described as an alarming pattern of illegal detentions targeting military magistrates.
“This is not the first time military judges have been arbitrarily detained,” the LGDH warned, recalling that in July 2024, three judges of the Superior Military Court were arrested and held for weeks at the General Staff headquarters after ordering the release of defendants accused in the alleged February 2022 coup attempt.
While the motive behind Major Nhanque’s abduction remains unclear, speculation has surfaced that it may be connected to sensitive military court cases, including that of Rear Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto, who was released earlier this month after being held for three years without formal charges.
Nhaga said the family has received no explanation from any authority. “This country shouldn’t be going down this path. If he did something wrong, there should be a trial,” he said.
As of Thursday, neither the presidency nor the Superior Military Court has issued any official statement on the matter.
