Mozambique: Appeals Court order release of former transport minister

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Mozambique: Appeals Court order release of former transport minister

7:32 CAT | 28 May 2021

FILE - While in jail, Zucula was far from idle. He wrote two books, gave classes to his fellow inmates, and organized musical entertainment. [File photo: CamalMoz]

Mozambique’s Higher Appeals Court has ordered the release of former Transport Minister Paulo Zucula against payment of bail of 50,000 meticais (about 830 US dollars, at current exchange rates), reports Thursday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”.

Zucula was detained in June 2019 during the investigation into the construction of Nacala International Airport, in northern Mozambique, by the Brazilian building company, Odebrecht. Zucula was suspected of taking bribes from Odebrecht.

There is no doubt that Odebrecht bribed somebody in Mozambique, which, in 2016, was on a list of 11 countries where Odebrecht had paid the equivalent of 439 million dollars in bribes. The corruption was investigated by US and Brazilian prosecutors.

The amount paid in Mozambique was 900,000 dollars, but the American and Brazilian investigators did not reveal the names of those who received the money. It is generally believed that the money was paid to secure contracts for building Nacala Airport – an airport which opened in December 2014 with the capacity to serve half a million passengers a year.

But no research had been done into whether such an airport was needed, or whether any international air companies wanted to fly to Nacala. As a result, the only company serving Nacala with scheduled flights is Mozambique Airlines (LAM), with three flights a week between Maputo and Nacala.

Two years after his detention, Zucula was still being investigated and had not been charged. His lawyers submitted a writ of habeas corpus, which the Appeals Court has now accepted.

While in jail, Zucula was far from idle. He wrote two books, gave classes to his fellow inmates, and organized musical entertainment.

The Odebrecht case is quite separate from the bribe allegedly paid by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, to ensure that LAM would buy two Embraer aircraft. Zucula has been charged in this case, along with the former chairperson of LAM, Jose Viegas, and the former Mozambican manager of the South African petrochemical company Sasol, Mateus Zimba.

They are all charged with illicit participation in business, but Zucula was never detained in connection with this charge.

The prosecution said the accused had used the LAM purchase of two Embraer aircraft in order to enrich themselves, with Zimba, who had no prior connection with LAM or with civil aviation, operating as a middlemen, setting up a shell company registered in Sao Tome and Principe, through which the bribe was channeled.

Bribe is a most unpleasant word, and so the payments were passed off as “sales commissions” of 400,000 dollars for each aircraft.

According to the prosecution, once the money was received, it was divided between Zucula (430,000 dollars) and Zimba (370,000 dollars).

The Maputo City Court is due to deliver its verdict and sentence in this case on 22 July.

Source: AIM