Dear All,

I am sorry for cross posting.

Best regards

Paulo

----- Original Message -----
From: Africa Action <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 3:48 AM
Subject: Mozambique: Corruption and Murder


> AFRICA ACTION
> Africa Policy E-Journal
> March 4, 2003 (030304)
>
> Mozambique: Corruption and Murder
> (Reposted from sources cited below)
>
> This posting contains background information and a request for
> individual signatures on a petition to Transparency International,
> nominating murdered economist Antonio Siba-Siba Macuacua in
> Mozambique for the organization's integrity award. As noted in the
> background material from Joseph Hanlon and the Mozambican News
> Agency below, the trial for the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso
> concluded in January with conviction and strong sentences for his
> murderers. But the issues of corruption and intimidation Cardoso
> was dealing with have not been resolved.  A key test is the stalled
> investigation of the murder of economist and banker Macuacua.
>
> For more background, in Portuguese and English, see
> http://www.sortmoz.com/aimnews
>
> To sign the petition to support the nomination , please use the e-
> mail address in the posting below. Please note that the request is
> for individual support, not for organizational endorsements.
>
> +++++++++++++++++end summary/introduction+++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Murdered Mozambican Economist Nominated for Transparency
> International Award
>
> March 2, 2003
>
> This e-mailing was circulated by Joseph Hanlon, [log in to unmask]
>
> As part of the campaign to force the Mozambican government to
> investigate the assassination of economist Antonio Siba-Siba
> Macuacua, a group of prominent Mozambicans has nominated him
> posthumously for the 2003 Integrity Award of the anti-corruption
> body Transparency International (TI).
>
> Among those nominating Siba-Siba are: Mozambique's former first
> lady, Graca Machel; former finance minister Abdul Magid Osman; the
> country's best known writer, novelist Mia Couto; Supreme Court
> judge Norberto Carrilho; prominent journalists Salomao Moyana and
> Machado da Graca; and economists Roberto Tibana and Antonio
> Francisco.
>
> A petition in support of the nomination (below) is now being
> circulated, and readers of this newsletter and other supporters of
> Mozambique are encouraged to sign.
>
> Siba-Siba was the head of banking supervision at the Bank of
> Mozambique and became emergency chair of the privatised Austral
> Bank when it collapsed in April 2001 after fraud carried out by
> highly placed people. Siba-Siba attempted to recover bad debts,
> including some from senior people in government and in Frelimo. He
> also cancelled contracts signed by the previous board, including
> one in with Nyimpine Chissano, son of President Joaquim Chissano,
> who was paid $3000 per month despite his lack of experience in
> banking.
>
> On 11 August 2001, unknown assailants murdered Siba-Siba as he
> worked in his office on the top floor of the Austral headquarters
> and threw his body down the stairwell. The nominees for the TI
> award say that the murder of Siba-Siba "was meant to send a signal
> that organized crime was very much in control." They note that
> "there are no indications of firm steps being taken by the
> authorities to seriously investigate, find the suspected killers
> and their masters, and subject them to trial. On the contrary, many
> people are still being subjected to pressure and made fearful of
> continuing the call for justice."
>
> A more detailed AIM report is below. A longer report on the bank
> scandals and assassination of Siba-Siba is on the web on
> http://www.mol.co.mz/noticias/metical/2001/en010917.html
>
> ============
>
> PETITION TO SUPPORT TI NOMINATION
>
> In November 2000, journalist Carlos Cardoso was assassinated for
> investigating bank fraud. Initially there was no investigation. But
> there was an international campaign, including an award by
> Transparency International. Under this pressure, the killing was
> investigated, and in January 2003 six people were found guilty of
> that murder. A similar campaign can force an investigation of the
> assassination of Siba-Siba. A key step would be a TI award, and we
> ask economists and all those interested in Mozambique and in
> justice and integrity to sign this petition to Transparency
> International.
>
> - Alan Harding, Centre for Study of African Economies, Oxford
> - Joseph Hanlon, Open University
>
> If you wish to support this petition, which will be sent to the
> Transparency International office in Berlin, Germany, please reply
> to [log in to unmask] by 15 March stating your name, address
> (city, country) and, optionally, your professional affiliation.
> Also, please circulate this petition to your friends and contacts.
>
> TEXT OF THE PETITION TO TI:
>
> We, the undersigned, wish to support the recent nomination of
> Antonio Siba-Siba Macuacua for the 2003 Transparency International
> Integrity Awards. We believe that Siba-Siba would be a worthy
> recipient of this reward in recognition of his outstanding courage,
> determination and integrity as a government official seeking to
> investigate and publicise widespread fraud and high-level
> corruption in the Mozambican banking sector. We also believe that
> this award would play an important role in putting necessary
> pressure on the Mozambican authorities to instigate a full and
> comprehensive investigation into his brutal assassination on
> Saturday 11 August 2001, which, to date, has been sadly lacking.
>
> In his short career, Antonio Siba-Siba Macuacua had already
> demonstrated that he possessed the necessary qualities to be a role
> model for a new, younger generation of Mozambican leaders wishing
> to work for a society based upon transparency, justice and the rule
> of law. His assassination was designed to send a clear message to
> those involved in Mozambican public life that such a society is not
> achievable. By supporting his nomination for this award and by
> demanding that those involved in his murder be brought to justice,
> we wish to declare our solidarity with all those in Mozambique who
> are working for higher standards in public life and against the
> forces of crime and corruption.
>
> ***********************************************
>
> 104203E   Siba-Siba Nominated for International Award
>
> Maputo, 26 Feb (AIM) - A group of prominent Mozambicans have
> nominated murdered economist Antonio Siba-Siba Macuacua
> posthumously for the 2003 Integrity Award, the prize awarded by the
> anti-corruption body Transparency International (TI).
>
> Siba-Siba was the head of banking supervision at the Bank of
> Mozambique. When the privatised Austral Bank collapsed under a
> mountain of bad debt in April 2001, and its private shareholders
> refused to recapitalise the bank, returning their shares to the
> state instead, the Central Bank appointed the 33 year old Siba-
> Siba chairman of a provisional board set up to rescue Austral.
>
> Siba-Siba set about investigating the true state of the Austral
> finances, and attempting to recover the debts. He even had a list
> of over 1,200 debtors published in the main daily paper "Noticias"
> in June.
>
> He also cancelled those contracts signed by the previous board
> which he regarded as worthless. One of the contracts he tore up was
> with Nyimpine Chissano, oldest son of President Joaquim Chissano,
> who had been hired as a consultant on the breathtaking salary of
> 3,000 dollars a month, despite his lack of experience in banking.
>
> On 11 August 2001, unknown assailants attacked Siba-Siba as he
> worked in his office on the top floor of the Austral headquarters.
> They murdered him and threw his body down the stairwell. Since that
> date nobody has been arrested for the assassination, and the police
> have issued virtually no statements, beyond the routine claim that
> investigations are continuing.
>
> Among those nominating Siba-Siba for the integrity award are the
> country's former first lady, Graca Machel, former finance minister
> Abdul Magid Osman, the country's best known writer, novelist Mia
> Couto, Supreme Court judge Norberto Carrilho, prominent journalists
> Salomao Moyana and Machado da Graca, and economists Roberto Tibana
> and Antonio Francisco.
>
> In their statement backing the nomination, they describe Siba-Siba
> as "a man of integrity and competence, full of energy, driven only
> by the sense of well-doing for his country, an example for his
> generation and for generations to come, who was perfidiously
> targeted by organised crime, and killed in the most barbaric way".
>
> The group argue that the murder of Siba-Siba "was meant to send a
> signal that organized crime was very much in control and would not
> tolerate those who crossed their line".
>
> They note that "there are no indications of firm steps being taken
> by the authorities to seriously investigate, find the suspected
> killers and their masters, and subject them to trial".
>
> "On the contrary", they add, "many people are still being subjected
> to pressure and made fearful of continuing the call for justice.
> Domestic civil society has awoken and is doing its best to support
> and encourage those in the police and judiciary who remain honest
> and willing to discharge their duties with courage, responsibility
> and honesty, but there is a desperate need for moral support".
>
> The nominators argue that "By awarding Antonio Siba-Siba Macuacua
> the Integrity Award and, in doing so, further raising the awareness
> of the local and the international community and organizations for
> his case, Transparency International will make an important
> contribution to the cause of fighting against corruption in
> Mozambique, Africa, and the world at large".
>
> The nomination of Siba-Siba now goes to the Transparency
> International Integrity Awards committee, which will draw up a
> shortlist. The winners will be announced at the opening of the 11th
> International Anti-Corruption Conference to be held in Seoul, South
> Korea, on 25 May.
>
> The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transparency
> International, Peter Eigen, describes TI as "the only non-
> governmental organisation dedicated to the struggle against
> corruption". It has more than 90 national branches throughout the
> world, working to reduce the supply and demand of corruption.
>
> A recent article by Eigen notes that one in four of the journalists
> killed in 2001 because they were investigating corruption. That
> year TI awarded murdered Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso a
> posthumous award, describing him as "a symbol of tenacity and
> integrity in the battle against corruption". (AIM) pf/ (669)
>
> **************************************************************
>
> Carlos Cardoso Murder Trial
> Verdict details
>
> Mailing 14 - 31 January 2003
>
> AIM clippings circulated by Joseph Hanlon ([log in to unmask])
>
> ANIBALZINHO RECAPTURED & RETURNED TO MAPUTO: Anibalzinho, who was
> convicted today (Friday) of organising the killing of Carlos
> Cardoso, was returned to Maputo this evening. He had been allowed
> to escape from the maximum security prison on 1 September, and was
> arrested near Pretoria, South Africa, yesterday.
>
> OTHERS MAY BE INVOLVED: Giving his ruling, the presiding judge,
> Augusto Paulino stressed that "others" could also have been
> involved in the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso. Paulino
> specifically mentioned Nyimpine Chissano, the son of President
> Joaquim Chissano, who is already under investigation by the Public
> Prosecutor's Office. Businesswoman Maria Candida Cossa and others
> with links at the top of Frelimo were also mentioned at the trial,
> both in connection with the murder, and in relation to money
> laundering and other financial misconduct.
>
> ALL 6 CONVICTED: All six men accused for murdering journalist
> Carlos Cardoso were found guilty today and sentenced to long jail
> terms. Anibal dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"), who escaped from
> prison and was tried in absentia, and who recruited the death squad
> that murdered Cardoso and drove the car used in the ambush, was
> sentenced to 28 years and 6 months in prison. The two other members
> of the death squad, Carlitos Rachide ("Carlitos") who fired the
> fatal shots, and Manuel Fernandes ("Escurinho") who acted as
> look-out, each received a sentence of 23 years and 6 months. The
> other three were found guilty of ordering the assassination. Loan
> shark Nini Satar was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment and his
> brother Ayob Satar, owner of the Unicambios foreign exchange
> bureau, to 23 years and three months. Their associate, former bank
> manager Vicente Ramaya, received a sentence of 23 years and six
> months. Carlos Cardoso's two children were awarded $588,000 in
> compensation and the injured driver, Carlos Manjate, was awarded
> $21,000.
>
> ...
>
> 123103E Cardoso Murder: Long Prison Sentences Imposed
>
> Maputo, 31 Jan 2003 (AIM) - The Maputo City Court on Friday found
> all six men charged with the murder of Mozambique's top
> investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso guilty, and sentenced them
> to prison terms of up to 28 years and six months.
>
> All six were also found guilty of the attempted murder of Cardoso's
> driver, Carlos Manjate, who was severely injured in the November
> 2000 ambush.
>
> The man who received the longest jail term is Anibal dos Santos
> Junior ("Anibalzinho"). He was tried in absentia, because he was
> illicitly released from the Maputo top security prison on 1
> September. However, South African police arrested him on the
> outskirts of Pretoria on Thursday, and he is likely to be
> extradited to Mozambique at the weekend.
>
> The court found that Anibalzinho recruited the death squad that
> murdered Cardoso and drove the car used in the ambush.
>
> He was sentenced to 22 years for first degree murder, 18 years for
> attempted murder, 10 years for criminal conspiracy, 10 years for
> the theft of the car used in the assassination, 9 years for illegal
> use of a firearm, 14 months for the use of a false passport, eight
> months for two counts of the use of false names, and four months
> for making false statements to the authorities.
>
> This was consolidated into a single prison term of 28 years and six
> months. This is longer than the usual maximum of 24 years, partly
> because of the multiplicity of crimes committed, and partly because
> the court decided that Anibalzinho is "a habitual delinquent".
>
> The two other members of the death squad, Carlitos Rachide (who
> fired the fatal shots), and Manuel Fernandes (who acted as
> look-out), each received a sentence of 23 years and six months.
> Telling marginally in their favour was the fact that they had both
> freely confessed to the crime, which the court regarded as a
> mitigating circumstance.
>
> The other three accused were all found guilty of ordering the
> crime. Loan shark Momade Assife Abdul Satar ("Nini") was sentenced
> to 24 years imprisonment, and his brother, Ayob Abdul Satar, owner
> of the Unicambios foreign exchange bureau, is to serve 23 years and
> three months. Their associate, former bank manager Vicente Ramaya,
> received a sentence of 23 years and six months.
>
> In addition, the court ordered the six to pay compensation of 14
> billion meticais (588,000 US dollars) to Cardoso's two children, 13
> year old Ibo and seven year old Milena, and 500 million meticais
> (21,000 US dollars) to Carlos Manjate.
>
> This is 100 per cent of the compensation which the lawyers for the
> Cardoso family and for Manjate had demanded. In addition, the court
> ordered Anibalzinho and Fernandes to pay 12,000 dollars to the
> company that owned the stolen Citi-Golf used in the murder, even
> though the company had not asked for compensation.
>
> The court decreed that a variety of goods seized from the assassins
> are forfeit to the state. These include all the mobile phones that
> they were using illicitly in the prison, and cars purchased with
> the payment for the assassination.
>
> One of these cars is a Mercedes-Benz acquired by Anibalzinho
> immediately after the murder. The presiding judge, Augusto Paulino,
> noted that this car "has miraculously returned to a relative of
> Anibalzinho from the police car park where it was being held". He
> issued a warrant ordering that the Mercedes be seized at once, and
> returned to police custody.
>
> In the four hour ruling, giving the court's reasons for its verdict
> and sentence, Paulino stressed that "others" could also have been
> involved in the murder. The court agreed with the prosecution that
> the reason why the Satar brothers and Ramaya~ wanted to eliminate
> Cardoso was because of his investigation into the massive fraud in
> which the country's largest bank, the BCM, lost 144 billion
> meticais (14 million dollars at the exchange rate of the time). The
> money was stolen at Ramaya's BCM branch, through accounts opened by
> members of the Abdul Satar family.
>
> But Paulino did not rule the possibility that other people may have
> been involved in the assassination for "other motives".
>
> The court believed that the murder had been plotted at
> conspiratorial meetings held in mid-2000 in the Rovuma hotel. But
> the judges believed that there had been other meetings "which
> included the participation of individuals other than the
> defendants". These meetings had taken place at Unicambios, at the
> house of rich businesswoman Candida Cossa, and at Expresso Tours,
> the company owned by Nyimpine Chissano, the oldest son of President
> Joaquim Chissano.
>
> Paulino noted that these meetings, at which Nyimpine Chissano was
> allegedly present were reported by Nini Satar to Antonio
> Frangoulis, the then head of the Maputo branch of the Criminal
> Investigation Police (PIC). Frangoulis reported this to his
> superiors (including Interior Minister Almerino Manhenje),
> following which he was sacked.
>
> The court could neither condemn or acquit Nyimpine Chissano, since
> he is not a defendant in this case. But the fact that Paulino
> mentioned Nyimpine and Expresso Tours will certainly give further
> impetus to the separate case file, currently in the hands of the
> Public Prosecutor's Office, in which Chissano Jr is a suspect.
> (AIM) pf/ (835)
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Date distributed (ymd): 030304
> Region: Southern Africa
> Issue Areas: +economy/development+ +political/rights+
>
> ************************************************************
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