26 October 2008
Maputo — The charge sheet against Mozambique's former Interior Minister, Almerino Manhenje, who has been under arrest since 22 September, focuses mainly on the apparent inability of Manhenje to separate his private and professional lives.
The latest issue of the independent weekly paper "Savana", which has had access to the charge sheet, shows that the charges largely refer to the use of ministry funds to make purchases for himself, his home and his family.
Thus the 42 counts of making undue payments refer to repeated payments of wages to Manhenje's domestic servants out of the budget of the Interior Ministry. Manhenje's servants had no contractual links to the Mozambican state and so using state money to pay them was illegal. The total spent (and the figure apparently only refers to 2004) was 764.300 meticais (about 31,700 US dollars).
Manhenje is also accused of theft of funds amounting to 428,800 meticais for acquiring cleaning and hygiene products for his house, paid for by the Ministry.
The sum of 46,500 meticais was diverted from Ministry funds to pay for air tickets and entry visas to other countries for his wife, daughter and niece. Manhenje also authorized the use of 847,300 meticais to maintain and repair vehicles belonging to people who had no connection with the Ministry. A further 8,226 meticais was spent on paying for his wife's cell phone bills.
Ministry money was also used to pay rent on two houses owned by Manhenje, in the Maputo neighbourhoods of Malhangalene and Sommershield. The prosecutors put this expenditure at 382,900 meticais
Manhenje is also accused of working with Armando Pedro Junior (the current chairperson of the National Social Security Institute, INSS, but then a Defence Ministry official who also did jobs for the Interior Ministry) to set up a company without having the legal powers to do so.
This was Chicamba Investments, a company where the shareholders were ten high ranking Interior Ministry officials, including police generals. Manhenje allegedly authorized Pedro to represent the state at the public deed ceremony where the company officially came into existence.
Two state warehouses were taken over by Chicamba, and they were eventually used by the National Industry of Police Uniforms (INUPOL), which was 50 per cent owned by Chicamba.
The prosecution claims that the Interior Ministry under Manhenje paid 24.3 million meticais to INUPOL via Chicamba. Did the Ministry receive any police uniforms or other goods in exchange for this money?
An anonymous ministry source told "Savana" that the ministry did receive the uniforms, and there exist delivery notes that prove this.
The money allegedly misused by Manhenje in the offences listed in the charge sheet is only a small fraction of the 205 million meticais which, according to a forensic audit, of the Interior Ministry could not be accounted for. "Savana" says that the diversion of funds by Manhenje and the other eight accused, mentioned in the prosecution document, amounts to 31 million meticais (1.29 million dollars).
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