Maputo — Mozambique's Attorney-General, Joaquim Madeira, has guaranteed that there is no truth to reports that the case file on the alleged involvement of Nyimpine Chissano, oldest son of President Joaquim Chissano, in the murder of investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso, has been shelved.
Cited by the independent newsheet "Mediafax", Madeira said the case is with the Maputo city branch of the Public Prosecutor's Office. From there it would go directly to the City Court.
Madeira could see no reason for shelving the case, thus denying rumours that the case was an embarrassment to his office, which wanted to drop it.
The case against Nyimpine Chissano, with the file number 188/2002, also mentions as a suspect the former chairman of the crisis-ridden Austral Bank, Octavio Muthemba.
This file exists because of accusations made against Chissano by several of the men who were found guilty of the murder and sentenced to lengthy prison terms on Friday.
In particular, loan shark Momad Assife Abdul Satar ("Nini") admitted providing the money which paid the death squad. But he claimed he had given this money as a loan to Nyimpine Chissano, and had asked no questions when Nyimpine told him to pay it directly to Anibal dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"), the man who organised the death squad.
When called to the witness stand, Chissano vehemently denied any involvement in the murder, but could not explain how cheques for the equivalent of over 50,000 US dollars were in Nini Satar's possession. Satar presented them as evidence in his defence, claiming the cheques were the security for the loan he gave Chissano.
Nyimpine Chissano also claimed he had no dealings with Satar and had only met him once. But another witness, businesswoman Candida Cossa, testified that she had personally seen Satar and Chissano together on four occasions.
Maputo city attorney (and assistant attorney-general) Rafael Sebastiao declined to make any comments on the case, when "Mediafax" contacted him,.
The paper alleged that, while those investigating the case think there is sufficient evidence already to order the preventive detention of Nyimpine Chissano, their hierarchical superiors disagree.
The investigators are known to be looking through the mobile phone records of Chissano, Nini Satar and others involved in the murder. This is painstaking work, but it could establish a pattern of contacts - for instance, if the records show that Chissano repeatedly telephoned Satar, this would effectively deny his claims that he had no dealings with Satar.
