Maputo, 26 May (AIM) – Although he never obtained any mining licence, the leader of last Sunday’s abortive coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Christian Malanga, according to a report in the independent daily “O Pais”, had been involved, through a consortium, in mining for gold in Guro district, in the central Mozambican province of Manica.
Malanga arrived in Samora village in Guro in 1922 to exploit gold in a mine belonging to the company JSM e Filhos Ltd. Under an agreement with this company, Malanga promised to drill boreholes to provide the local population with drinking water.
This was described as an act of “social responsibility” which Malanga announced on social media. But it was an empty promise. When no boreholes were drilled, JSM had to abandon the village.
JSM’s operations cover an area of 15,000 hectares, under strong police protection to prevent any illegal mining. When it found that it was being accused of links with Malanga, JSM issued a statement claiming that in November 2022, the Congolese had contacted JSM, asking for a partnership.
But since Malanga did not carry out his part of the deal, JSM broke off the partnership unilaterally. When, despite the collapse of the arrangement, Malanga tried to dig for gold in the JSM area, the company called on the police and the public prosecutor’s office to throw him out.
The JSM statement says the company has had no contact with Malanga since February 2023. The statement ends with a strong condemnation of the coup attempt a week ago in which Malanga lost his life.
Despite the JSM statement, the Manica provincial authorities say they have no knowledge of any business activities by Malanga.
(AIM)
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