By Joseph Hanlon
People named by former
President Armando Guebuza have been ousted from two of his key power bases, the
security services and the railways. President Filipe Nyusi has replaced them
with retired people from the Chissano era who owe nothing to Guebuza - and who
are old enough that they have no need to build independent power bases.
Thus it appears that President
Filipe Nyusi has finally consolidated his power in government and in the party,
ahead of the Frelimo party congress in September. The security service SISE
(Servico de Informacoes e Seguranca do Estado) is at the centre of Mozambique's
two current crises, the war with Renamo and the $2 billion secret loans. Thus
shifts in negotiations with Renamo and in dealing with the secret debt may be
expected.
On Monday, retired general Lagos Lidimo was named director general of SISE, replacing Gregorio Leao who was appointed by Guebuza in May 2005. Born in 1950 in Mueda, Cabo Delgado, Lidimo joined the liberation war when he was only 16 years old and became an important guerrilla commander. After independence Lidimo was head of military intelligence during the wars with the Ian Smith regime in then Rhodesia and then apartheid South African. After the 1992 peace accord, President Joaquim Chissano appointed Lidimo as Chief of Staff of the new joint army. He retired in 2008.
Nyusi also appointed a deputy
general director for SISE. He is Sergio Nathu Caba, who was formerly an
assistant lecturer at the history department in Maputo’s Eduardo Mondlane
University, and is the author of a book on “The War in Zambezia Province and
the role of Malawi 1975-1988”.
And last week Nyusi named
Miguel Matabele to head the state railways CFM. He had worked at CFM for 40
years, and only retired last year. He was Director-General of CFM North when
Nyusi returned from Czechoslovakia with his mechanical engineering degree and
was sent to CFM North.
Transport and SISE are two of
the bases on which Guebuza built his power. As transport minister 1987-94 he
developed his core businesses in that sector, and then as president he
consolidated SISE as his key military and security force. Lidimo, Nyusi, and
Nyusi's chief backer, Alberto Chipande (born 1939, liberation war veteran, and
still active politically and in business) are all Makonde. Lidimo has business
links to the northern business network which includes Chipande. Former
President Chissano's wife, Marcelina, is also Makonde.
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