Guebuza Attacks Justice System
Maputo, 21 Jan (AIM) – Former Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Friday denounced the country’s legal system for the arrest of his oldest son, Ndambi, who has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for his role in the case of the country’s “hidden debts”, the largest financial scandal in Mozambican history.
Speaking at a Maputo symposium held to mark his 80th birthday, Guebuza said the justice system “has not yet explained, in acceptable terms, why Ndambi is detained”.
The claim is extraordinary because Guebuza was personally present in the courtroom during parts of the trial of his son and of 18 others accused of involvement in the “hidden debts”. The Public Prosecutor’s Office gave a very detailed outline of the various financial crimes of which Ndambi Guebuza was accused.
The trial began in April 2021, and reached its climax with the verdict and sentence read by judge Efigenio Baptista over the best part of a week, starting on 30 November 2022.
Far from giving “no explanation”, Baptista’s verdict, which was 1,388 pages long, went into exhaustive detail about the crimes of which he was considered guilty. Baptista concentrated in particular on the bribes allegedly paid by the Abu Dhabi based group, Privinvest, to Ndambi Guebuza and his associates.
Privinvest became the sole contractor for three fraudulent, security-related companies, namely Proindicus, Ematum (Mozambique Tuna Company) and MAM (Mozambique Asset Management). The initial idea was that the government would hire Privinvest to run a coastal protection scheme. The man who claims that this was his brainchild, Teofilo Nhangumele, organized meetings between government and Privinvest officials, notably the senior Privinvest salesperson, Jean Boustani.
But at first the scheme seemed to have stagnated. Nothing was happening, and so Nhangumele turned to his colleague Bruno Langa for help – and Langa went to his friend, Ndambi Guebuza. Could Guebuza intervene with his father, to ensure that the Privinvest plans went ahead?
It turned out that Ndambi was willing to seek help from his father – but at a price. To ensure that Privinvest won the contracts, huge bribes would be needed. Nhangumele asked Boustani to add an extra 50 million dollars to the bill “to massage the system”.
Boustani agreed – and, after some haggling, it was agreed that the greater part of this bribe would go to Ndambi. He would receive 33 million dollars, while Nhangumele and Bruno Langa would be paid 8.5 million dollars each. (Ndambi, however, has vehemently denied taking any money from Privinvest).
As he outlined these corrupt schemes, Baptista cited extensively from email correspondence between Boustani, Nhangumele and the other conspirators. Quite illicitly, Privinvest arranged official United Arab Emirates documents – such as work visas and residence permits – for Nhangumele, Langa and Ndambi, which allowed them to open bank accounts in Abu Dhabi, where much of the bribe money was deposited.
Once the bribes were paid, Ndambi went on a spending spree, using much of the money to buy real estate and luxury vehicles in South Africa. The prosecution outlined these purchases in detail – giving not only bank account numbers but even engine and chassis numbers for the vehicles.
All this is on the record, and the court accepted that it had been proven. Of course, Ndambi Guebuza has every right to appeal against the verdict and sentence, and his legal team has insisted that it will indeed appeal.
The former President claimed that his family was being persecuted, and cited, not only the arrest of Ndambi, but also the murder of his daughter, Valentina. “She was taken from us in this same confusion that put Ndambi in prison”, he said.
But the murder of Valentina was committed by her abusive husband, Zofimo Muiane, on 14 December 2016, and had nothing to do with the “hidden debts” scandal. Muiane is currently serving a 24 year prison sentence for the murder. Valentina’s murder happened years before Ndambi was arrested.
Despite the alleged harassment, said Guebuza, “we bore it. We are strong. If Portuguese colonialism was not able to shut us up, our own comrades will not be able to do so”. He did not say which of his “comrades” he blamed for the supposed persecution.
Indeed, he appeared to be claiming, just like the country’s opposition parties, that the legal system is run by the ruling Frelimo Party. But no ties are known between judge Baptista and the Frelimo leadership.
In the less controversial parts of his speech, Guebuza stressed his role in the struggle for Mozambican independence, “bringing into reality the dreams of many previous generations of Mozambicans of seeing their motherland free of colonial domination, of building the nation of their dreams, the nation of which they are the sole legitimate owners, without fear of making their own mistakes, but also with the daring and courage to correct them”.
He recalled those who had given their lives for Mozambican independence, including the founder of Frelimo, Eduardo Mondlane, and the country’s first President, Samora Machel. “It is terrible to remember the comrades who have left us”, said Guebuza. “They have left, but others are continuing their work. The Armed National Liberation Struggle was a necessity, otherwise we would not be independent”.
“I am not saying that everything is fine”, he continued. “What is certain is that they have left, and we remain. Let us honour their memory. Let us not play with their history. At least, let us honour their memory”.
(AIM)
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