VZCZCXRO7418
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #1110 2570608
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140608Z SEP 07 (ZDK ZUI RUEHTOA1244)
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7946
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
UNCLAS MAPUTO 001110
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR MSHIELDS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCOR KCRM PGOV PREL MZ
SUBJECT: HOUSECLEANING IN ATTORNEY GENERAL'S
OFFICE
1. (U) In the past two weeks President Guebuza
fired Attorney General Joaquim Madeira and all
deputy attorneys general in what some observers
are calling an unprecedented display of
housecleaning. Included in the firings are the
former and current heads of the Central Office
for the Combat of Corruption (GCCC). Guebuza
replaced Madeira with Judge Augusto Paulino,
former president of the Maputo City Court. While
initially giving no reason for the firings,
Guebuza later stated publicly his hope that the
new Attorney General's mission translated into
the strengthening of the justice sector, and
"particularly the fight against corruption."
2. (U) Madeira, who had been the Attorney General
since 2000, had become increasingly outspoken in
the last several months despite having little to
show for his rhetoric. When several police
agents were accused of extrajudicial killings in
April, Madeira criticized the police leadership
for defending the agents and launched a thorough
investigation that culminated in their arrest.
Separately, when the Supreme Court refused to
prosecute cases of corruption investigated by
GCCC, alleging it did not have a legal mandate to
lay charges, Madeira publicly called their
actions "shameful."
3. Paulino comes with some street credit as the
judge who presided over the trial of the six men
accused of killing the influential independent
journalist Carlos Cardoso. He not only sentenced
the men to lengthy prison terms (a rare
accomplishment in Mozambique), he championed
transparency by allowing the trial to be
broadcast live on Mozambican radio and
television.
4. (SBU) COMMENT: While Guebuza is not overtly
sending an anticorruption message by replacing
the entire Attorney General's office, he likely
chose a person with a cleaner and stronger image
in Paulino Q someone who can more effectively
represent Guebuza's stated goal of eradicating
corruption. If Paulino assembles a good team of
deputy attorneys general, and particularly in
naming the new head of the GCCC, the overall
result could be a more focused effort to combat
corruption.
CHAPMAN