Mozambique: Parliament ratifies Rwanda extradition deal amid opposition criticism
VOA / Judge Mahomed Varinda
A court in the northern Mozambican city of Lichinga on Tuesday sentenced the mayor of the city, Saide Amido, to 18 months imprisonment for corruption and abuse of power.
However, Amido will not spend any time in jail, since the judge. Kaled Varinda, converted the sentence into a fine, at the rate of 30 meticais (54 US cents, at current exchange rates) a day. He must also pay an additional fine of 640,000 meticais and pay compensation to the state of 200,000 meticais. The total he must pay comes to 856,410 meticais (about 15,300 US dollars).
According to the report on the trial in the independent daily “O Pais”, the court found Amido guilty of illicitly charging three foreign nationals 150,000 meticais for occupying land where they intended to build snack bars. The money has now been returned to the foreigners.
Amido’s accomplice, municipal worker Jonas Pedro, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, and the head of his office, Aderito David, was sentenced to six months for covering up the crime. In both cases, their prison terms were converted into fines.
Amido was elected mayor of Lichinga on the ticket of the ruling Frelimo Party in the municipal elections of 2013, for a five year term of office.
Branded as corrupt by a court, it looks impossible for Amido to complete his term of office, and thus a mayoral by-election in Lichinga is likely to be held in the near future.
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.