MOZAMBIQUE: NEW CHIEF FOR RESTRUCTURED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001334

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR AF/S HTREGER
USAID FOR DMENDELSON
MCC FOR SGAULL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCOR PGOV PREL MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: NEW CHIEF FOR RESTRUCTURED
ANTI-CORRUPTION UNIT

REF: A. MAPUTO 692


B. MAPUTO 559

1. (SBU) Summary: On September 9 the controversial head of
Mozambique's Anti-Corruption Unit, Assistant Attorney General
Isabel Rupia, was removed and replaced by her colleague,
Assistant Attorney General Rafael Sebastiao. The GRM
explained the move as part of a restructuring process of the
Unit announced several weeks earlier. Rupia built a
reputation for agressively investigating corruption
allegations, but also, in some instances, for leaking
information to journalists on stalled cases, which undermined
her effectiveness. Assistant Attorney General Sebastiao has
told us he will hire more staff and improve case management.
President Guebuza has made fighting corruption a central
theme of his administration. To date, however, none of the
investigations of allegations against senior officials has
resulted in a conviction. End summary.


2. (U) On September 9 Assistant Attorney General Isabel Rupia
was removed as head of the Attorney General's Anti-Corruption
Unit (UAC),replaced by colleague and fellow assistant
attorney general, Rafael Sebastiao. Rupia remains with the
Attorney General's office as head of the Department of
Legality, a position she held while she was head of the UAC.
Rupia's removal came just weeks after Attorney General
Joaquim Madeira formally announced the creation of the
Central Office for the Combat of Corruption (GCCC),which
under legislation enacted last year replaces the UAC as
Mozambique's primary corruption fighting office. Unlike the
UAC, the newly established GCCC functions as an autonomous
unit under the Attorney General's Office, with its own line
item in the GRM's budget and authority to hire additional
permanent full-time prosecutors and investigators.


3. (SBU) Rupia's removal has been sharply criticized by human
rights groups that claim it undermines the government's
anti-corruption message. There are also suspicions that
Rupia was removed due to political pressure. Under Rupia the
UAC took on a series of high profile investigations,
including allegations of corruption leveled at former
education minister Alcido Nguenha and against the current
head of the publicly-owned electricity company, EDM, Vicente
Veloso. Rupia's tenacity made her a target, and in December
2003 she narrowly escaped assassination.


4. (SBU) Other observers fault Rupia for poor judgment, and
believe that this coupled with the unit's inability to
produce results under her leadership led to her removal. Of
the 128 criminal cases the unit received between 2002 and
mid-2005, only 30 have gone to court and none yet have
resulted in a conviction. In a September 12 meeting with
Emboffs, the Attorney General cited press interference as one
of the factors that attributed to the UAC's lack of
demonstrated results. (Comment: This may have been a
back-handed slight at Rupia, who was well-known for leaking
sensitive information to the press when she was frustrated
with the lack of progress of some cases. End comment.)


5. (SBU) In a series of meetings since his appointment,
Sebastiao has stated to Emboffs that he will focus
immediately on management issues that have hampered progress
to date. He plans to institute a case tracking system -
something missing under Rupia - as well as reassign pending
cases and augment his staff from the current three part-time
prosecutors to the eight full-time mandated under the law.
Sebastiao has also stated he will go after cases at any
level, a mandate reinforced by statements from Madeira
himself.


6. (SBU) Sebastiao is considered a close associate of
Madeira's. He was the prosecutor assigned to the Siba-Siba
murder case, as well as to the Cardoso murder trial in which
former President Chissano's son has been implicated. Neither
of the cases has progressed, and it is widely speculated that
the lack of movement is intentional to protect high-level
officials. (Comment: That these cases have been stalled
under Sebastiao raises questions whether he will fare any
better than Rupia in moving forward with her caseload. End
Comment.)


7. (SBU) Comment: The current speculation surrounding Rupia's
dismissal comes at a time when the government of President
Armando Guebuza has taken a strong public stance against
corruption. Fighting corruption was central to his
presidential campaign and he has pledged action in many
public addresses since taking office. With increased
pressure from civil society and the public at large, the
stakes have been raised for the GCCC under Sebastiao to
produce tangible results.
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