Trial of former Labour Minister and 10 other defendants postponed to Tuesday – Watch | Mozambique

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Trial of former Labour Minister and 10 other defendants postponed to Tuesday – Watch | Mozambique

12:24 CAT | 14 Mar 2022

Screen grab: Miramar

The trial of former Mozambican labour minister Helena Taipo in Maputo’s Katembe neighbourhood has been postponed until tomorrow, Tuesday 15th March, the Supreme Court has announced.

The court statement says the delay results from the need to accommodate the public and the 11 defendants in a case which sees them accused of the misuse of 113 million meticais (€1.6 million) of state funds.

The case, brought by the Central Office for Combating Corruption (GCCC), will be tried by the 8th section of the Judicial Court of the City of Maputo.

The former minister (2005-2015) and 10 other suspects are accused of having embezzled the money from the accounts of the Directorate of Migrant Labour (DTM), one of the entities at the time supervised by Taipo.

Some of the amount corresponds to fees that South African mining companies paid the Mozambican state for the hiring of labour.

According to the GCCC indictment, the money was used to purchase real estate, vehicles, comestibles and alcoholic drinks, the defendants thereby committing the crimes of embezzlement, breach of trust, economic participation in business and forgery.

The former minister is also accused in another case of receiving around 100 million meticais (€1.4 million) in bribes in 2014.

The alleged bribes were for favouring companies in the construction and graphic sectors regarding contracts with the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), an entity that the then minister also supervised.

Helena Taipo was held in preventive detention at the Preventive Establishment of the City of Maputo from April 2019 and May 2021, but is now awaiting trial on bail, under terms of identity and residence.

In addition to being minister of labour, Taipo also acted as governor of Sofala province and Mozambican ambassador to Angola.

Watch the Miramar report.

Source: Lusa / Miramar