Maputo — Businessman Nyimpine Chissano, the oldest son of President Joaquim Chissano, did indeed leave Mozambique during the festive season, despite a travel ban imposed in December by the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The independent newsheet "Mediafax" reported the ban on 20 December, and at the time the story elicited no denial or any other comment. Last week "Mediafax" said that, despite the ban, Chissano Jr made a visit to Portugal. His diplomatic passport was allegedly returned to him "on higher orders".

AIM has confirmed that Nyimpine Chissano was indeed in Portugal. AIM spoke to another Mozambican citizen who was on the same flight from Lisbon to Maputo as Nyimpine. Chissano travelled business class, and returned to Maputo on the flight of 7 January.

Nyimpine Chissano's name was repeatedly mentioned in the Carlos Cardoso murder trial at the Maputo City Court, as one of those who ordered the killing of Mozambique's top investigative journalist.

A second case file into the murder has been opened, in which Chissano is one of the suspects.

He has vehemently denied any connection to the assassination. But evidence at the trial indicated that Chissano and his company, Expresso Tours, have had longstanding relations with money-lender Momade Assife Abdul Satar, the man who claims he was an unwitting middleman between Nyimpine Chissano and the fugitive Anibal dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"), who led the death squad that murdered Cardoso.