Narcotics links tarnish Frelimo
A US-sanctioned narcotics kingpin's finance for the
governing party complicates commercial and diplomatic relations
The appearance of Mohammed Bashir Suleiman –
designated a 'drugs kingpin' by the United States – at the banquet of a local
business association on 18 September has infuriated friends of Filipe
Nyussi, presidential candidate of the governing Frente de
Libertação de Moçambique (AC Vol 55 No 5, Frelimo picks a candidate). This is because the Confederação
das Associações Económicas de Moçambique (CTA), the organisers of the
banquet, invited Bashir to the event and placed him at the top table, just a
couple of seats away from Nyussi. As the CTA banquet at the Indy Village
complex in Maputo turned out to be a fundraiser for Frelimo's election
campaign, Bashir's attendance sent a clear message: that he remains an
important financier of the party, despite US reports that his fortune derives
from drug smuggling, and that he has strong endorsement from a powerful faction
within Frelimo (AC Vol 53 No 2, Maputo
shuns US concern & AC Vol 54 No 23, Abductions
fuel anxiety).
The USA was unequivocal in its June 2010 designation: 'Mohammed
Bashir Suleiman is a large-scale narcotics trafficker in Mozambique and his
network contributes to the growing trend of narcotics trafficking and related
money laundering offences across Southern Africa,' said Adam J Szubin,
the Director of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets' Control. Bashir's
conglomerate Grupo MBS Limitada, which includes retail stores and a
shopping mall in Maputo ,
were placed under US sanctions. Beshir has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.
The business people at the CTA banquet were doubly
surprised. Firstly, at the way in which it turned into a fundraiser for
Frelimo. Secondly at Bashir's presence: since the US designated him as a drugs
kingpin, President Armando
Guebuza has publicly distanced himself from the wealthy
businessman. Bashir's presence and the party fundraising was also awkward for
two executives attending the banquet from the US
oil company, Anadarko, which is building Mozambique 's multibillion-dollar
liquefied natural gas plant. The US State Department has said it will respond
to questions fromAfrica Confidential about the legal implications
of Bashir's financing of Frelimo and participation in the CTA meeting.
Nyussi nonplussed
For now, Nyussi's leading supporters fear that Bashir's association with his campaign will undermine his efforts to establish himself as a credible reformer with the voters ahead of the presidential elections on 15 October (AC Vol 55 No 19, Frelimo turns the screws). Nyussi was meant to have been the main attraction at the CTA banquet. Although he has become better known and liked in recent months, he lacks the political stature or experience of his predecessors.
For now, Nyussi's leading supporters fear that Bashir's association with his campaign will undermine his efforts to establish himself as a credible reformer with the voters ahead of the presidential elections on 15 October (AC Vol 55 No 19, Frelimo turns the screws). Nyussi was meant to have been the main attraction at the CTA banquet. Although he has become better known and liked in recent months, he lacks the political stature or experience of his predecessors.
His friends say Nyussi wants to reform the party and
government. He was clearly unhappy that a supposed business gathering had
turned into a somewhat vulgar party fundraiser: as Frelimo supporters and
others enthusiastically joined in the auctions, bidding vast amounts for
objects of little value, Nyussi remained subdued, according to some of the
other guests. One said he spent most of the evening dealing with texts and
emails on his cellphone, although he spoke briefly to other Frelimo notables
and even had a very short exchange with Bashir.
Known for his huge donations to Frelimo, especially at
election time, Bashir has been a key party supporter. In return, he has
developed political connections helping the growth of his business empire.
Sources close to the party say Bashir's donations to Frelimo have given him a
degree of protection. Although he was kept a distance, at least publicly, after
the US
designation, it seems he is keen to ingratiate himself with presidential
candidate Nyussi. The enthusiasm doesn't appear entirely mutual.
Bashir is nonetheless a long-time party donor and
Frelimo certainly needs funds. CTA officials confirm that Bashir has been
giving money to the party while business people say that he has recently
paid for many other public meetings. Associates of businessman Silvestre Bila, who played a key role in
winning Nyussi's nomination as Frelimo's candidate, say that he opposed
Bashir's invitation to the CTA banquet. CTA DirectorRogerio Manuel appears
to have been behind the invitation, aiming to boost party funds. Perhaps he had
not thought through the diplomatic consequences. Bila is understood to have
warned that any association between Frelimo and drugs money would prove politically
disastrous. Despite confusion about who actually issued the invitation
to Bashir, we hear that it was approved by President Guebuza.
Symbolic pen
Also at the top table at the banquet, along with Nyussi and Bashir, were several other guests of honour including Frelimo's First Secretary Hermenegildo Mateus Infante and businessmanAdriano Weng. Also in attendance was Alvaro Massingue, another wealthy businessman and Frelimo financier. For the astonishing price of just over 2 million meticals (US$65,000) he purchased the pen with which Nyussi will sign the official documents if he becomes president. The pen purchase seems to have become a symbolic gesture of support, accompanied by a hefty party donation. When Guebuza was candidate, it was Bashir who purchased the presidential pen for a similarly inflated sum.
Also at the top table at the banquet, along with Nyussi and Bashir, were several other guests of honour including Frelimo's First Secretary Hermenegildo Mateus Infante and businessmanAdriano Weng. Also in attendance was Alvaro Massingue, another wealthy businessman and Frelimo financier. For the astonishing price of just over 2 million meticals (US$65,000) he purchased the pen with which Nyussi will sign the official documents if he becomes president. The pen purchase seems to have become a symbolic gesture of support, accompanied by a hefty party donation. When Guebuza was candidate, it was Bashir who purchased the presidential pen for a similarly inflated sum.
Guests at the banquet say there was no warning on the
invitation that the CTA event would be a Frelimo fundraiser and the more
apolitical attendees expressed frustration with the organisation's close ties
with the governing party. Yet the following week the CTA held another dinner at
which it gave a brand new Mercedes Benz to President Guebuza. Embarrassed at
the gesture, especially in the run-up to an election in which Frelimo's
commitment to fighting corruption is a key issue, Guebuza immediately returned
the gift.
In October 2009, Mozambican media questioned the
independence of the national electoral commission after Massingue's company
Sotux, alongside another company in which Guebuza was a shareholder, won
contracts to supply equipment for the elections (AC Vol 50 No 22, A
dominant party, not a one-party state). Newspapers reported that the fact
that Massingue had accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars of bad debts
was ignored because of his high-level connections in the party. Earlier that
year, Massingue had escaped any censure in theBanco Austral scandal:
the bank was accused of making reckless loans to politicians and well-connected
business people that were never repaid. Massingue was one of Banco
Austral's top three officials at the time but the government took no action
against the bank or its management.
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