FORMER PRESIDENT'S SON DIES, IMPLICATED IN MURDER

UNCLAS MAPUTO 001393 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KCOR MZ SUBJECT: FORMER PRESIDENT'S SON DIES, IMPLICATED IN MURDER ¶1. (SBU) The son of former President Joaquim Chissano, Nyimpine Joaquim Chissano, died on November 19 at the age of ¶37. Though reportedly of a heart attack, his death has been subject to public rumors of foul play, including poisoning. Nyimpine was implicated as the intellectual author of the murder in 2000 of Mozambique,s leading investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso, who had been investigating the country,s biggest banking fraud case at the time, in which $14 million had disappeared from the Commercial Bank of Mozambique. The Maputo city judicial court had begun criminal proceedings in August of this year against Nyimpine in preparation for a trial that was expected to start before the end of the year. Nyimpine was buried on November 22, precisely seven years to the day when Cardoso was murdered. ¶2. (SBU) COMMENT: President Armando Guebuza left November 21 for Kampala, Uganda to take part in a Commonwealth summit. While the Chissano family had chosen to hold a private funeral, President Guebuza's absence was noted. Many commentators believe that in the years following the Cardoso murder trial, a considerable and influential part of Frelimo leadership had expressed concerns that the trial had tainted former President Chissano in the eyes of the populace, which could harm the party's future electoral success. Curiously, opposition party RENAMO's leader Afonso Dhlakama did attend the funeral, a rare public appearance especially at a predominantly FRELIMO event. END COMMENT. Chapman