Maputo — A prominent Mozambican NGO, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), on Wednesday challenged the decision by the country's Central Office for the Fight against Corruption (GCCC) to close an investigation into alleged irregularities in aircraft acquisitions by employees of the publicly-owned company Air Mozambique (formerly known as Mozambique Airlines, LAM).
Last February, the GCCC, which operates under the structural umbrella of the Attorney General's Office (PGR), detained João Carlos Pó Jorge, the former managing director LAM, for alleged mismanagement, embezzlement and corruption. In addition to Pó Jorge, who managed LAM for almost six years, the authorities also detained Hilário Tembe, the LAM former Director of Operations; and Eugénio Mulungo, the company's head of Treasury.
The CCC spokesperson, Romualdo Johnam, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said that allegations that company's former managing director ordered a payment of six million US dollars for the purchase of an aircraft are untrue as "Investigative efforts, including audits, failed to yield sufficient evidence of criminal activity.
However, the CDD chairperson, Adriano Nuvunga, claims that there is an initial perception that the closed case concerned the purchase of two Embraer 190 aircraft delivered to LAM in late 2025.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
"They say that the archived file is unrelated to the acquisition of the two Embraer 190s. We do not agree with the closing of the investigation. We need to formally request access to the case file to understand the grounds and determine what steps we can take", he said.
Nuvunga argues that closing the case without public access to its rationale raises concerns over transparency in the management of public resources in the aviation sector.
"Archiving the file must not prevent public scrutiny of contracts signed by Mozambique Airlines. We must proceed with the Administrative Tribunal so that it calls Mozambique Airlines to account, without waiting until the end of the year, to give legal effect to the findings of LAM's internal audit report and to open proceedings against the company's current management", Nuvunga said.
Over the last 10 years, LAM, which used to operate with just two airplanes, has been shaken by a financial crisis involving corruption practiced by the company workers during the acquisition of services. The company has recorded debts with suppliers, valued at over 230 million dollars as a result of embezzlement.
In 2024, LAM was under the management of the South African company Fly Modern Ark (FMA), which was hired by the government to bring the company into profitability and rescue it from bankruptcy. However, the effort did not solve anything.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Under the plan to restructure LAM, the government has authorized three state-owned companies to acquire stakes of the country's flag carrier. The companies in question are: Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi river, in the central Mozambican province of Tete, which acquired of 25.2 percent of the share capital; the rail and port company, CFM, and the insurance company EMOSE, which acquired 15.4 percent of LAM's shares by investing 22 million dollars each.
