TURMOIL IN MOZAMBIQUE'S POLICE FORCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001209

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TAGS: KCRM KCOR PGOV PHUM MZ
SUBJECT: TURMOIL IN MOZAMBIQUE'S POLICE FORCE

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Classified By: Charge d'Affairs Elizabeth Raspolic for Reasons 1.5 (b/d
)


1. (C) Summary: In the latest in a string of shootings, on
September 4 two riot policemen moonlighting as bodyguards
were gunned down by other police while sitting in a car.
Minister of Interior Pacheco first said the two were wanted
criminals and then the next day admitted that they were riot
policemen, but claimed that they were criminals who had
"infiltrated" the police force. Since then the government
has fallen silent on matter, with no explanation for why the
shooting occurred and no announcement of an investigation.
The September 4 killings are merely the latest in a string of
shootings involving police. In mid-August, possibly in
reaction to the increasing violence, President Guebuza
replaced the head of the police and the chief of the
presidential security detail. And in the past ten days
Minister Pacheco transferred to the provinces a number of
senior police commanders stationed in Maputo. The shootings
and personnel changes underscore that Mozambique's police
force is in turmoil, that officers have links to organized
crime, and that Minister Pacheco by no means has full
control. End Summary.


2. (C) On September 4, while entering a gas station in a
vehicle in the middle of the afternoon, two riot policemen
and the civilian driver of the car were gunned down by
policemen in an apparent ambush in a Maputo suburb. Minister
of Interior Pacheco went on TV later that day to say that the
victims were well-known common criminals. The next day he
corrected himself, admitting that two of the dead were riot
policemen, but adding that they were criminals who had
"infiltrated" the police force. However, reporters from the
private TV station STV later in the week uncovered more
details (and the government-owned newspaper, Noticias,
carried the STV account on September 8). According to STV,
the two policemen were off-duty and serving as bodyguards for
the car driver, a businessman who had a large sum of money in
the car and was en route to the frontier with Swaziland to
transfer it out of the country. (It is common for
businessmen to hire off-duty police in such situations.) The
car was ambushed by other policemen. An eyewitness told STV
he saw police, after they had fired into the vehicle, open
the trunk and remove a large bag, and then drive off. Other
police afterwards appeared and stood guard around the
bullet-riddled vehicle and bodies in it. According to the
press, the killers had initially been approached by the
businessman to serve as bodyguards but had asked for too much
money. (Note - As it appears that the killers' identities
are known, it is not clear why they have not been arrested.
End note.)


3. (U) The September 4 shooting is the latest in a string of
violent incidents involving the police. On July 7 one of the
leaders of the elite "Mambas Brigade" anti-crime unit, senior
police commander Isaias Chavane, was gunned down along with
two others in broad daylight at a snack bar. One week later,
on July 14, Helder Bento Machava, a member of the gang that
shot Chavane, was killed during a shoot-out between the
police and other gang members after he led police to their
hideout; the other gang members managed to escape. On August
10 police fatally wounded another wanted criminal, who died
in the hospital later that day. And on August 22 two members
of the Mambas Brigade were seriously injured in a drive-by
shooting in the evening in central Maputo.


4. (U) On August 14 President Guebuza replaced the national
commander of the police force and the head of the Casa
Militar (the presidential guard). Custodio Pinto, the new
national police commander, in his remarks during the ceremony
acknowledged the high crime rate in the country.
Subsequently, he told the press that the police force had
been "infiltrated by criminal elements." The press has
described the appointment of Pinto, who was a colonel in
charge of the anti-aircraft unit of the armed forces, as a
sign of the militarization of the police. Further
replacements were made on September 12, when Interior
Minister Pacheco announced new postings for 22 senior police
commanders. Several senior police officials in Maputo city,
including the head of the city police force, were transferred
to the provinces. The Maputo city police chief was ordered
off to Lichinga, the capital of poor Niassa province, in
Mozambique's remote north.


5. (C) Comment: The Ministry of Interior is commonly
believed to be a swamp of intrigue and corruption, with

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police seen as the most corrupt of all government officials
by ordinary citizens, according to a survey in 2004. Since
being made Minister in February 2005, Pacheco has been trying
to clean it up, a very difficult task. Late last year
Pacheco announced that he had uncovered 55 "ghost employees"
on the Interior Ministry's rolls, along with the
disappearance of $8 million in Interior Ministry funds during
the tenure of his predecessor. His reformist efforts are
thought to be thwarted by powerful former army officers in
the Ministry and in the police who are able to run their
offices as they see fit. Pacheco's authority is further
undermined by the fact that the national police commander is
chosen by the president (as is the head of the presidential
security detail),and so not answerable to him.


6. (C) Comment Continued: The killing of the Mambas commander
apparently was over business deals - his links to organized
crime were an open secret in Maputo. By transferring to the
provinces senior police commanders, Pacheco may be acting to
break up other suspected crime rings and get key individuals
out of Maputo to less visible posts. (Note: When President
Guebuza appointed Custodio Pinto to the job of national
police chief, he gave Pinto the mandate to "purge" suspected
"criminal elements." It is likely that Pinto is taking the
lead in identifying those to be transferred. Officials in
Mozambique are customarily disciplined through transfers
rather than outright dismissals. End note.) In this
context, contacts have speculated that the September 4 police
killing and some other shootings may be efforts by Interior
ministry and police officers to eliminate possible
informants, before Pacheco,s men can use them to root out
the corrupt. Pacheco may have to tread carefully, despite
being one of only a handful of ministers on the powerful
15-member Frelimo Political Commission.
Raspolic