After the trial, Janeiro was placed in an isolated cell and into a small wooden box, with only a tiny opening through which a few pieces of fruit were shoved daily. When he was taken out one week later, he was practically unable to stand. Along with his fleshly brothers Antonio and João, he was deported to São Tomé e Príncipe to serve a seven-year sentence. During this time the Dede brothers helped to form a congregation on those penal islands.

Among them was Albino Mhelembe, who by then was up in years. In 1957 he and others from Lourenço Marques were also deported to São Tomé, but they continued to witness.