CARDOSO MURDER:
MORE CHEQUES FROM NYIMPINE CHISSANO

Maputo, 29 Nov 2002 (AIM) - Maputo loan shark Momade Assife Abdul Satar ("Nini"), one of those accused of murdering Mozambique's best-known journalist, Carlos Cardoso, on Friday handed over to the Maputo City Court three more cheques, signed by Nyimpine Chissano, the oldest son of President Joaquim Chissano.

Last week, Satar had given the court four uncashed cheques from Chissano Jr, each for 165 million meticais (about 6,930 US dollars).

Satar's defence is that he paid for the murder, but did not realise that the money was being used for a contract killing. He claims that Nyimpine Chissano asked him for a loan of 1.2 billion meticais - but the money was to be given, not to Nyimpine, but to Anibal dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"), the man accused of organising the death squad that murdered Cardoso. Satar admits making four separate payments to Anibalzinho.

Chissano Jr was to repay the money with a series of post-dated cheques for 1.29 billion meticais. Since the cheques fell due between 24 October 2000 and 30 January 2001, one can work out that the extra 90 million meticais, which Satar describes as his "commission", is in fact an interest rate of over 45 per cent p.a.

Satar claimed that most of the money was never repaid: he says Nyimpine asked him not to cash the cheques, because he was in "financial difficulties".

As with the earlier cheques, the ones presented on Monday were all drawn on an account held at the cooperative bank Credicoop by Nyimpine Chissano's company, Expresso Tours. In the signature, the surname "Chissano" can be seen clearly.

Two of the cheques are for 165 million meticais and the third for 300 million. Taken together, the seven cheques do indeed total 1.29 billion meticais.

Two of the cheques indicate no payee, but the third is made out to a man named Tarmomede Vali Mahamed. Satar said he had given the cheque to Vali to be cashed - but when he contacted Nyimpine, the latter told him to recover the cheque and he would pay in notes instead. "So Vali returned the cheque, and I gave him cash", said Satar.

All three cheques had been partially redeemed by Nyimpine, Satar claimed, and he had kept a note on the back of the cheques as to how much money was still owing - five million meticais on one, 8.78 million on a second, and 18 million on the third (the one made out to Vali Mahamed).

According to Satar, Nyimpine Chissano had not redeemed anything at all from the four cheques presented in evidence last week.

As the judge has repeatedly complained, it is extremely difficult to understand Satar's financial transactions. No doubt the difficulty is deliberate, since he is an unlicensed and entirely illegal money-lender.

Nyimpine Chissano himself can certainly throw some light on the matter. He has been subpoenaed, and will be obliged to give evidence later in the trial.
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