Maputo — Alexandre Njovo, the former Presiding Judge of the Maxixe City Court, in the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane, on Tuesday was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for his involvement in the embezzlement from the state of 3.2 million meticais (50,000 US dollars at the current exchange rate).
The sentence also includes the payment of a one-year fine and the obligation to compensate the Mozambican State to the amount of approximately three million meticais.
The Third Section of the Inhambane Provincial Law Court also sentenced his accomplice, Francisco Cumbane, a court clerk, to 12 years in prison, in addition to the return of 2.7 million meticais to state coffers.
The case dates back to the 2017-2018 period, when an internal audit at the Maxixe Court found serious irregularities in the management of the institution's bank accounts.
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According to the Attorney-General's Office (PGR), cited by the independent paper "O País', Alexandre Njovo and Francisco Cumbane used their privileged access to compulsory deposit accounts to issue fraudulent cheques and make illegal withdrawals.
These accounts were intended for sensitive amounts, such as bail, fees, alimony and other sums that, by law, should remain in the custody of the court until a judicial decision.
"In just six months of irregular transactions, the amount withdrawn exceeded 1.25 million meticais. In total, the overall value of the embezzlement reached around 3.2 million meticais. The cheques were issued in the name of the clerk, and the amounts were subsequently divided between the two of them. The audit revealed that the withdrawals occurred repeatedly and in significant amounts', the court said.
The court found it proven that the defendants had acted in collusion, taking advantage of their positions, and the institutional trust placed in them, to commit the offences. It was also proven that there was an attempt to conceal evidence, including the deliberate destruction of cheque stubs, manipulation of official documents and preparation of false justifications to cover up bank transactions.
In addition to the crime of embezzlement, Njovo and Cumbane faced charges of abuse of office, and destruction of official documents.
Njovo has already been expelled from the judiciary. That decision was taken by the regulatory body for judges, the Higher Council of the Judicial Magistrature (CSMJ), in October 2019, following the audit. The case was then remitted to the PGR for criminal proceedings.
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During the reading of the sentence, the judge said that the behaviour of Njovo and Cumbane compromised the credibility of the justice system, since judges ought to set an example of probity and transparency.
Njovo has promised to appeal and told journalists that he had been set up. He contested the court's interpretation of the facts and claimed that no criminal intent had been proved.
The prosecution, however, said the court's decision strengthens the principle that "nobody is above the law'.
