Mozambique: Former mayor stands trial – AIM report

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Mozambique: Former mayor stands trial – AIM report

4:41 CAT | 18 Dec 2020

Photo: Noticias

The trial began on Wednesday in the Inhambane City Court, in southern Mozambique, of the former mayor of the town of Massinga, Clemente Boca.

According to a report in the Maputo daily “Noticias”, Boca and four municipal officials are charged with abuse of their office, diversion of funds, and falsification of documents. The total amount of money stolen, according to the prosecution, is 2.46 million meticais (about 33,240 US dollars, at current exchange rates).

Also charged is A.Chicomo, manager of the Amendoeira guest house in Massinga, which belongs to another of the accused, T. Carlos, who is the former chief accountant in the Massinga Municipal Council.

The prosecution says that Carlos signed a contract with the guest house – which was highly irregular, since he owned the place. The purpose of the contract was to provide accommodation for three people hired by the municipality to teach a course for Massinga firemen. They were to stay there for 90 days, but in fact only stayed for 82. Since the price of the accommodation plus the hire of the training room was 246,000 meticais a day, this deal alone could have earned the accused 1.97 million meticais.

The prosecution says the accused also negotiated to buy space on which to build a secondary school and houses for 13 members of the Massinga Municipal Assembly. They issued cheques for over 1.4 million meticais supposedly to compensate the former users of the land.

But Chicomo, manager of the guest house, received 500,000 meticais of this money, on the grounds that this was compensation for the 333 coconut palms and one lemon tree that he had owned on this space.

Source: AIM