Mozambique

The Internet is steadily growing despite the country's poor phone lines. The killers of journalist Carlos Cardoso, editor of the daily paper Metical, which was distributed only by e-mail or fax, were given prison sentences in 2003. The Internet is catching on among Mozambicans but most people still use cybercafés to log on to it. The main towns have good Internet facilities and websites are not under threat of closure, censorship or monitoring. In fact the government is trying to expand Internet use and has set up a commission on computer technology policy under prime minister Pascoal Mocumbi. The government does not politically harass Internet users or the rest of the media. However, the good record has been married by one serious episode - the murder on 22 November 2000 of Carlos Cardoso, publisher of the online newspaper Metical, which was only distributed by e-mail and fax. He was killed driving home from his office through the centre of the capital, Maputo, by two gunmen who blocked the way and opened fire, killing him at once and seriously wounding his driver. Cardoso had been investigating the disappearance of 144 billion meticais (just over 7 million euros) from the Mozambique Commercial Bank (BCM). Metical had followed the scandal closely and expressed surprise at the lack of any enquiry. It had also mentioned the names of three powerful local businessmen, the Satar brothers and Vicente Ramaya. On 28 February the following year, the interior minister announced the arrest of several suspects in the case and a few days later arrested Momade Abdul and Ayob Abdul Satar, as well as Vicente Ramaya, who had been the head of the BCM's Maputo office. At the end of May, six people had been charged in the case. On the night of 1 September 2002, one of the six suspects, Anibal Antonio dos Santos Jr. ("Anibalzinho") escaped from Maputo's top security prison. The police gave no immediate explanation, but there had been recent public concern about the disorganised prison system. In August, Momade Abdul Satar, one of the alleged organisers of the killing, was put in solitary confinement after he was found to have a mobile phone. On 3 September, three senior police officials working at the prison were arrested. The official version of Anibalzinho's escape was that he had walked out through the door of his cell. But this had three locks on it, to which only the police had keys. A few days later, eight more police officers were arrested. The pro-government weekly Domingo called on 8 September for interior minister Almerino Manhenje to resign and at the end of the month, the independent weekly Mediafax accused him of being involved in the escape, saying he had direct control over the prison's security. Two years after the murder, on 18 November, the trial of five of Cardoso's alleged killers began in a special courtroom inside Maputo prison (to guard against incidents) and the judge, Augusto Paulino, was given special protection. Journalists were allowed to attend the hearings. The next day, one of the defendants, Manuel Fernandes, accused Nyimpine Chissano, son of President Joaquim Chissano, of having organised the murder. The president announced that justice had to be done and that the trial must continue even if his son's name had been mentioned. Another defendant, Momade Abdul Satar, said on 20 November that on Nyimpine Chissano's orders, he had paid Anibalzinho to kill Cardoso. On 25 November, the suspected triggerman, Rashid Cassamo, also accused the president's son of being the brains behind the murder. The younger Chissano was summoned on 5 December and denied to the court he was involved. The six defendants were sentenced on 31 January 2003 to jail terms of between 23 and 28 years. The chief state prosecutor said Chissano's possible involvement in the murder was being investigated. Links: Commission on Computer Technology Policy (in Portuguese) The online daily Metical (in Portuguese, by subscription) The independent weekly Mediafax