In a document recently published by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP), in which Privinvest's defense arguments are presented in the London court, it is possible to verify that one of the news presented is that the then President of the Republic, Armando Guebuza, was aware of the payments of millions of dollars made by that company to members of its government and people in its circle, including its son, Armando Ndambi Guebuza.
The document reveals that Privinvest made payments of around 7 million dollars to Manuel Chang, then Minister of Finance ̧ and one million dollars to Filipe Nyusi, at the time Frelimo's candidate for the presidency of the Republic.
It was expected - and even predictable - that this scenario would happen. In a context like the Mozambican one, immunity is achieved through strategic alliances with the “right” individuals who can guarantee physical security, property, contractual and even constitutional rights. After all, “although the goat eats where it is tied” – a popular saying – it is always better not to eat alone.
The then President of the Republic, Armando Guebuza, could not dance this tango alone. It was necessary for him to drag people he trusted and others with him. People who could, in the short or medium future, ensure that this matter was hushed up, not because they feared him – Guebuza – because they would no longer have the power of the past, but because – defending Armando Guebuza, it would mean defending themselves .
From the discoveries of hidden debts to the latest developments in this case, Filipe Nyusi has been hesitant and hesitant to act. Two hypotheses can be made:
1. Ou Nyusi is politically naive, because the development of the case provided all the elements for him to embody the role of Pontius Pilate, washing his hands and letting justice do its work; a task that could easily lead to the “political death” of its predecessor, something very common in politics.
2. Or else, he is not innocent in this plot, therefore trying to manage as possible a sensitive issue that has long since left his control – read – from the Mozambican justice.
The second hypothesis seems to be the most likely. It may not have resisted the easy money. He joined the party and danced tango where the masters of the orchestra were Armando Guebuza and Iskandar Safa. He received the crumbs, but they were enough to cast a huge discredit on his image as the current Head of State.
Until it is final and unappealable, Nyusi, like any citizen under the rule of law, is entitled to a presumption of innocence. And hopefully he can prove that he is.
Now, once again, society's eyes will turn to the reactive PGR, to see what it will do with yet another chapter of the sordid details of what is – to this day – considered the biggest corruption scandal in Mozambique.
Let's stay tuned for the next chapters!
