Cablegate: Mozambique: Murder of Director of Maputo Central

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P 280757Z OCT 05
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4585
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
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TAGS: KCOR KCRM MZ PGOV PHUM
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: MURDER OF DIRECTOR OF MAPUTO CENTRAL
PRISON

1. On October 21 the Director of Maputo Central Prison, Jorge
Microsse, was fatally shot in the Pequenos Libombos area of
Boane district, about 40 kilometers outside Maputo city.
According to press reports, Microsse was approached in his
car by four armed men at approximately 1730 hrs as he stopped
to drop off two secondary school students he and his
girlfriend had picked up hitchhiking. Microsse was killed
instantly by a single shot to the chest; no one else was
injured. The armed men escaped in Microsse's car, an older
car unlikely to attract carjackers. All three witnesses were
taken into police custody for questioning. The two students
were subsequently released. As of October 27 the girlfriend
remained in custody for additional questioning, with her
identity not yet made public. It is unclear whether she has
been identified as a suspect in the murder.

2. According to press reports, Microsse made many enemies in
his short time as director of the Maputo Central Prison (he
only took over as director at the start of this year). He
was outspoken about the existence of "corrupt networks"
operating within the prison and reportedly had received
numerous death threats. Following a mass break-out in May,
Microsse suspended a number of guards suspected of extorting
money from prisoners in exchange for false release papers
and/or looking the other way during prison escapes. On
October 17 Microsse reportedly sent a letter to the National
Directorate of Prisons claiming he was being harassed by a
suspected armed robber, Bernardo Tivane, who was out of
prison on bail. (Note: Microsse allegedly had held up
Tivane's bail release. End note.) The Maputo Central Prison
has been the scene of numerous high-profile breakouts over
the past few years, including the 2001 and 2004 escapes by
Anibal dos Santos Junior (Anibalzinho), the man charged with
leading the group that murdered prominent investigative
journalist Carlos Cardoso in November 2000.

3. Comment: Most observers have dismissed the notion that the
attack was a crime of opportunity, believing instead that
Microsse's murder was aimed at thwarting the Guebuza
government's efforts to fight corruption and organized crime
within the prison system.
La Lime

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